After the War
by everlongsplace
Summary: Bruce Banner/Tony Stark: In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** M

Chapter 1

Tony wasn't sure how he'd come to find a nervous fellow scientist with tufty dark hair and misshapen spectacles living under the roof of his Malibu mansion; Banner ate his food, criticised his drinking and sleeping habits and complained about taste in music; in fact most would say he was the worst kind of housemate to live with especially with the constant threat that "The Other Guy" would come out to play, most probably resulting in the destruction of whatever room, or more likely floor, of the building he currently occupied.

Yes, most people would consider Bruce Banner a pain to live with but Tony Stark wasn't like most people; in fact he found that he'd grown rather attached to Bruce's constant presence despite the mumbling under his breath whilst he worked, the tuneless whistling and the nervous behaviour which hadn't relented even three months after Bruce had "accidentally" moved in.

The mansion felt more homely with Bruce there, and it was good for Tony to have a real person to talk to now that he and Pepper had split up; JARVIS, as near lifelike as he sometimes seemed just didn't quite count.

After the battle against Loki and the Chitauri which almost levelled New York, Tony had invited Bruce to tour Stark Tower keen to explore that massive brain of his – it wasn't often he came across someone who could rival his own intellect. Knowing, unlike the other Avengers, the scientist had nowhere to go (aside from back to Calcutta or wherever the hell Romanoff had found him), Tony invited him to stay with him in Malibu for a few days… just until he found his feet again of course.

Inviting Bruce to stay had absolutely nothing to do with his own fear of the scientist not being close by – no certainly not Tony told himself. However Tony couldn't deny that ever since his little jaunt through the worm hole, ever since "The Other Guy" had caught him as he plummeted toward certain death, saving his life, Tony only felt truly safe when Bruce was close. Why "The Other Guy" had saved him he wasn't sure but ever since Tony hadn't feared him; yes, "The Other Guy" was volatile and unpredictable but after New York he seemed to understand the concept of being part of the Avengers Team. Tony just wished Bruce also didn't fear him as much – the guy might be fun if he allowed himself to relax just a little!

Bruce living with him definitely wasn't going to become a permanent situation, at least that's what Tony told himself at the time he showed Bruce to the guest bedroom of the Malibu Mansion … that was over three months ago now.

'Tony?' Bruce asked breaking his train of thought, 'Wow I didn't think Chinese food warranted so much deliberation.' Bruce said with a small smile.

Tony's eyes snapped up from the coffee table and darted over Bruce's fingers which clutched at a menu tightly; why was Bruce so on edge all of the time? There was no threat here, no reason for "The Other Guy" to surface so why couldn't he relax? It must be tiring to be so on edge, to constantly be fighting for control over the beast within him which seemed always so desperate to escape.

'Tony?' Bruce asked again, when the billionaire didn't reply for a second time. 'What is it?' he asked. 'Is it about your business meeting tomorrow? Pepper will be there right?'

Tony just grunted; he stood up and stretched. 'Duck." he said with a loud yawn. Bruce just frowned. 'I'll have duck.' Tony said jabbing his finger toward the menu as he passed Bruce and headed for the direction of his workshop. 'JARVIS tell me when the food arrives.' he called for Bruce's benefit – pointedly making sure he knew the subject of Pepper Potts was not one he wanted raising again.

As Tony descended the stairs down to his workshop he glanced through the glass wall and saw Bruce flop down onto the leather couch and sigh with exasperation. Tony paused on the stairs; he knew that Bruce was just trying to get him to open up regarding his break up with Pepper but really there was nothing for him to say – she couldn't handle his life as Iron Man, his life as part of The Avengers, where from time to time yes there was a risk of him losing his life. Pepper ended it, although stayed on as CEO of Stark Industries; when they met, which was rare these days, as Tony was busy saving the world and Pepper was busy running the company, she was nothing but professional which felt like a kick in the face to Tony who needed a few stiff drinks before he felt he could face her.

Tony decided against talking to Bruce and finished his walk down the stairs to his workshop. Pepper was probably the only subject on he hadn't touched on with Bruce, despite the scientist's attempts to broach the subject. They'd talked about everything else, their lives, Bruce's accident, the battle in New York and their very different childhoods – often these conversation would go in into the early hours and often Tony got very drunk in the process but even when intoxicated he still refused to talk about Pepper.

Before the food had even had a chance to get through the door, Tony was already on his third whisky and was ignoring Bruce's disapproving looks. 'What?' he finally snapped between a mouthfuls of noodles.

'You shouldn't drink so much.' Bruce commented calmly. 'What if we got the call to assemble? Could you really fly that suit of yours when you can barely walk?' he asked.

Tony scoffed as he devoured more noodles, and then just to prove a point he set down his container of Chinese food and headed to the bar to fix himself another drink; Tony wanted to tell Bruce he was just like Pepper, nagging about his drinking, but of course that meant bringing up the very subject the two of them were at logger heads over. 'I could fly that suit blind.' he boasted.

'You mean JARVIS could.' Bruce replied looking at the television rather than Tony who had returned to the armchair and his food.

'I invented JARVIS, I programmed him so technically it's still me doing the flying.' Tony retorted,

Bruce couldn't help but smile at this. 'You've got an answer of everything haven't you?'

Tony just smirked and knocked back the rest of his drink; he didn't both to reply, as bad a mood as he was in, he wasn't stupid enough to keep pushing Bruce's buttons. The latest version of his Iron Man suit was as Hulk proof as he could get it without compromising on other areas such as power and speed but he didn't want to test exactly how "Hulk Proof" it was … not tonight anyway.

Hours and two God awful films later, Bruce cleared away the cold remains of the Chinese and returned to the living room to look at Tony who lay half asleep drunkenly in the armchair – most of the expensive whisky he'd apparently been saving for a special occasion had disappeared along with several bottles of other hard liquor. Bruce had never seen a man drink so much in one sitting and it worried him deeply – what happened in New York had affected Tony, far more than he let on; Bruce knew this and one of the reasons he was determined to stay with Tony, despite the way the billionaire treated him sometimes, was because he wanted to help him. Tony was not only his team mate but he was his friend and despite his luxurious lifestyle and playboy image Bruce wasn't sure Tony had many friends at all.

'I'm going to bed.' Bruce told Tony. 'Are you staying up?'

'What's it to you?' Tony grumbled, scrabbling around for the bottle of whisky that had long since fallen onto its side and rolled away from the side of the armchair. 'You're not my wife you know?'

Bruce smiled calmly, biting back a response. 'Goodnight Tony.' he said turning to leave the room knowing he needed to get away before "The Other Guy" decide to express his opinion. However, Bruce stopped against his better judgement and turned to look at Tony once again. 'You'll eventually have to talk about it … you and Pepper … I'm not saying you have to talk to me, but someone, someday … otherwise you'll never be able to move on.' he told him, not even sure Tony was listening to him. 'Trust me.' he added thoughtfully before he headed for bed.

Tony stared after Bruce. "Move on?" he thought … he'd not even thought about that since breaking up with Pepper. What did Bruce mean his brain wondered through a hazy fog of drunkenness? Did he think he should be with someone else? So soon after Pepper? So soon after New York? And what did he mean by "trust me" … it sounded like Bruce had been through something similar. Tony thought back, Bruce hadn't mentioned a girl once during their late night conversations … although it was Tony who tended to do most of the talking he realised guiltily.

Tony would have contemplated it more but he was quickly distracted by the feeling of bile rushing up from his stomach his mouth and had to make a mad dash to the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner (Hulk)/Tony Stark (Iron Man), Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers (Captain America), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** M

Chapter 2

'Dr Banner.' JARVIS said as Bruce's bedroom was suddenly flooded with light which the AI switched on. 'Dr Banner I am sorry to wake you sir.'

Bruce groaned as he rolled over and buried his head in his pillow; he'd just been about to drop off to sleep when the AI had rudely roused him.

'Dr Banner?'

'Yes?!' Bruce snapped sitting up, his eyes flashing green but through gripping the bed coves and biting down on his bottom lip Bruce managed to squash "The Other Guy" who he could feel about to take over.

'Mr Stark is currently feeling unwell; perhaps you could check on him?'

Bruce flopped back down on the bed and closed his eyes, Stark deserved exactly what was coming to him he thought. However, Bruce knew that he couldn't just leave Tony; part of JARVIS's programming involved him looking out for Tony and given the risk the AI had taken by waking him so abruptly it meant Tony was either passed out or dangerously close to choking on his own vomit. Bruce hauled himself out of bed. 'Where is he?' he asked the AI as he pulled on his dressing gown and stuffed his feet into his slippers.

Bruce lazily followed JARVIS's instructions as to Tony's whereabouts and soon found the billionaire, head down in the toilet of his en-suite throwing his guts up – at least he'd managed to make it there in time Bruce thought knowing Tony was probably very practised at this. 'Tony …' Bruce sighed shaking his head.

Happy that Tony wasn't about to choke or pass out at any moment, Bruce fetched a glass of water from the kitchen. When he returned to the bathroom, Tony was sitting up but practically hugging the toilet bowl … but at least he wasn't being sick any more, that had to be a good sign. 'Feel better?' Bruce asked handing Tony the glass of water which he gratefully accepted. Tony just shrugged in reply. Bruce flushed the toilet, threw some cleaner down it before flushing it again. He washed his hands and then rinsed a cloth under the cold tap before offering it to Tony who used it to mop his sweaty brow. Tony seemed a little embarrassed by the state he was in – a sure sign that he was sobering up. 'I said you drink too much.' Bruce teased playfully, ruffling Tony's dark hair as he passed him. 'Have a quick shower, it will make you feel better – I'll get you some clean clothes.'

Tony nodded, hauled himself off the floor and began to strip off his clothes, handing them to Bruce as he did so. Tony wasn't embarrassed about showing his body, despite the scars and the arc reactor glowing brightly in his chest – Dr Banner had seen it all before when he'd patched him up on the battlefield, whilst "The Other Guy" wasn't around causing havoc of course.

Bruce left Tony remaining only in his boxer shorts and closed the door of the bathroom as he left; he threw the clothes straight into the wash and then returned to Tony's bedroom to find him some clean pyjamas; the sound of the shower running from the en-suite reassured him that Tony wasn't still being ill and he marvelled in the fact that he'd actually listened to him for once. Bruce searched the billionaire's extensive wardrobe and aside from a silk pair of pyjamas in an alarming shade of red he was sure Tony hadn't bought himself, more likely a gift from Pepper, he found no other suitable nightwear.

Deciding the red pyjamas were a bad idea if indeed they were a gift from Pepper, Bruce dug out a clean t-shirt and decided that and his boxers would have to do for the night. Did Tony usually sleep nude? Bruce found himself wondering … and then he found himself wondering why he was wondering such a thing!

Bruce sat down on the edge of the bed as he waited for Tony to finish in the shower; he wanted to make sure his friend was alright before he went back to bed … and just in case Tony wanted to talk he wanted to be there. Tony was cocky, overconfident and downright rude sometimes but he was also brilliant, completely mad and very very troubled, something Bruce certainly could relate to!

Tony appeared from the bathroom smelling strongly of cologne which Bruce suspected he'd used generously in an attempt to mask the small of sickness that still clung to the inside of his nose and throat.

Tony was surprised but relieved to see Bruce had waited for him. 'I'm sorry …' he croaked, his throat raw. Tony always found apologies difficult and rarely made them even if he was in the wrong but he didn't want things to be that way with Bruce, his only real friend in the world at the moment. After three months of living under the same roof, Dr Banner knew more about him than anyone else – even Pepper. "Pepper ..." he thought sighing sadly as he pulled on the clean t-shirt Bruce offered to him, even after all this time of them being apart she still had a massive influence on his life.

'You don't have to apologise; I may not be a "proper doctor" as you say but I've seen plenty of people over do it on the alcohol and regret it.'

'I meant about before …' Tony said sitting down heavily on the bed, drying his hair with a towel before tossing it carelessly on the floor.

Bruce tutted, picked up the towel and returned it to the bathroom, hanging it on the heater to dry. When he returned, Tony was lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling; the AI had automatically dimmed the light so that he and Bruce were in semi darkness. 'You're right about Pepper … I should talk about it.' he said opening one eye to check Bruce was still there, which he was hovering nervously in the bathroom doorway.

Wanting him to continue, Bruce sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at Tony, pleased that he had finally given in and accepted that he could be right for a change. 'Do you want to start now?' he asked.

Tony rolled onto his side and asked JARVIS to cut the lights completely which the AI did at once. Bruce got up to leave, clearly Tony hadn't meant talking about it tonight. Just as he reached the door Tony spoke again which caused Bruce to stop.

'She could never understand what it's like … not like you or Steve or Clint … any of them even Fury.' Tony sighed through closed eyes. Bruce gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed again. Tony must have felt his weight or the dip in the mattress before he continued. 'Things were different between us ever since New York, ever since I went through that wormhole.'

Bruce didn't reply, but he hummed under his breath slightly so that Tony knew he was listening.

'She was angry … she knew how close I came to dying out there in space, and she knew I'd made that choice. She was angry I made that choice. I tried to explain that there was no other way; that's when I think it cracked – our relationship – from that moment it was never the same. She couldn't trust me to take that risk again, she couldn't cope knowing that one day I might not come back. She started to resent Iron Man and soon that resentment bled into everything between us.'

Tony sighed dramatically; he rolled over and looked up at Banner who remained sitting him gazing thoughtfully at the wall opposite as he listened to Tony talk. 'You mentioned moving on …I don't think this is the sort of life that allows for that, for a long term relationship, it's just too much.' he said with a shake of his head. 'I'd be asking too much.'

Bruce sighed sadly and knew that the same went not only for Tony but for himself, all of the Avengers really. It particularly rang true with Bruce who had the added pressure of having to keep "The Other Guy" at bay; how could he expect to get close to anyone? To have a relationship of any kind with Bruce also meant accepting the "The Other Guy" and that wasn't something he found agreed with most people, it wasn't something he himself had come to terms with just yet either.

Bruce glanced at Tony. 'So are you going back to being the billionaire playboy the press love you to be then?' he asked knowing that this persona wasn't the real Tony Stark.

Tony sighed and closed his eyes once more. 'No.' was all he said.

Bruce decided this time he really should head to bed, but as he got up Tony reached out and grabbed his arm. 'Stay?' he asked, his eyes opening and staring up at Bruce. Luckily, Tony's move wasn't a quick lunge otherwise "The Other Guy" might have had something to say in the matter. Tony didn't really give Bruce much of a chance to protest as he pulled him down onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Bruce's chest, sighing into his shoulder. 'Just for one night.'

Bruce could feel the thrum of the arc reactor and its cold metal outer surface pressing into his back but it didn't feel uncomfortable, in fact he found it rather comforting to know that machine that kept the shrapnel away from Tony's heart, the machine that kept him alive, was still working.

Bruce found himself dozing off, his breaths matching the rhythm of the arc reactor. Soon he fell asleep bathed in soft blue light and with Stark snoring in his ear.

When dawn broke Bruce slowly opened his eyes and stretched out his arms; he smiled after experiencing one of his best nights sleep in a long while. Bruce uncurled himself from around the warm body he'd not yet registered in his sleepy haze and his hand drifted down his chest and into his boxers, grasping the aching harness he found within. Not unaccustomed to such a thing of a morning, Bruce rolled onto his back lazily fondled himself. However, movement in the bed next to him suddenly caused his brain to wake up and he realised that it was Tony he'd slept curled around practically nose to nose with. The shock and the harsh reality of the still prominent hardness between his legs was enough to have him leap out of bed in a fright. Breathing heavily, Bruce recalled the events of the previous night and of how he'd come to find himself in Tony's bed but it wasn't enough to calm himself down. Bruce placed a hand on the wall of Tony's bedroom, bracing himself as his breaths grew deeper and chestier. It felt like a panic attack was overcoming him but Bruce knew the signs – "The Other Guy" had been kept at bay too long, he was awake, angry and wanted out.

Bruce's now bright green eyes darted over Tony who was still sound asleep; he opened his mouth to shout to him, to tell him to run but the words did not come. Bruce felt himself slipping away, felt the monster taking over and tried again to shout but all that came was a Hulk roar that ripped through the bedroom as "The Other Guy" finally took control.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** M

Chapter 3

At the sound of the Hulk's almighty roar Tony's eyes snapped open; he sat bolt upright in bed and slowly turned to look at the source of the sound that had woken him hoping that what he feared wasn't true. However, Tony quickly confirmed that his worst nightmare was now reality as he turned to see the Hulk standing in the middle of his bedroom breathing heavily through his nostrils, his fists clenched and shaking with rage.

Tony knew he had to get out of the Hulk's path and fast; the Hulk hadn't yet spotted him and he intended on keeping it that way. Tony slid off the bed and ducked down behind it before he started to crawl toward the door.

Suddenly the larger than Kingsize bed rose into the air as the Hulk picked it up and threw it to one side like it was nothing more than a rag doll; Tony was now exposed and deciding this was no time for stealth he quickly scrambled up off the floor and ran taking advantage of the Hulk's distraction caused by feathers raining down on him from a pillow which had exploded as it hit the wall.

'JARVIS get my latest suit ready.' Tony yelled as he sprinted out of the bedroom and down the corridor toward his workshop.

'Sir the Mark 17 hasn't been fully tested yet.' The AI warned him.

'I DON'T CARE! GET IT READY!' Tony shouted knowing that his latest suit was the only one with any hope in hell of matching up to the power of Bruce Banner's alter ego. At the sound of another roar followed by an almighty crash, Tony looked over his shoulder to see the Hulk had smashed right through the wall of his bedroom and was now heading off luckily in the opposite direction he'd taken.

Tony had suited up within seconds of entering his workshop and flew through the mansion in search of the Hulk; he wasn't at all sure what he was going to do once he found him but he'd have to improvise because finding the beast was his first priority. 'JARVIS can you get his location?' he asked.

'Negative Sir.' The AI replied and Tony knew this meant either JARVIS was unable to track Bruce now that the Hulk had taken over or that the Hulk had left the mansion; he hoped it was the former of the two.

'Work on it! Search every CCTV camera, scan for his heat signature – do SOMETHING!' Tony instructed, a big bulky creature of the Hulk's size of couldn't be that hard to find.

Meanwhile, Tony used the old fashioned method of hunting him down – following the trail of destruction the Hulk had left in its wake. Tony flew as fast as his suit would allow but all he found was more smashed glass, more walls knocked through and more furniture tossed carelessly to one side; even his grand piano hadn't been able to withstand the Hulk Tony noted when he saw it at the bottom of the swimming pool as he flew out of the mansion.

Tony quickly realised the Hulk had left and judging by the broken palm trees lining the street it looked as if he was headed toward the city centre. 'JARVIS I want a clean-up crew here right now.' Tony told his AI as he looked back at his crumbling home. 'And put Rogers on the line.'

'Yes Sir.' The AI responded and instantly a picture of Steve Rogers, Captain America, appeared on Tony's visual.

'Cap, we've got a situation here.' Tony said the moment Steve answered the call. 'I need reinforcements right now, but not Barton or Romanoff – we don't need Fury or SHEILD's input on this.' he added knowing they were the shoot first ask questions later kind of people; they wouldn't care about Bruce, the man beneath the beast, all they would cared about was the monster taken down.

'Tony -' Steve started to reply; he knew instantly what had happened, something he'd been preparing for ever since he found out that Bruce Banner's fly by vacation at Stark's mansion had become more of a permanent arrangement. Liking to play by the book, Steve was uncomfortable with Tony's instruction not to notify two members of the Avengers team and the man who'd brought them all together, however, he could sense that Tony wasn't going to be convinced otherwise and this wasn't the time to argue.

'We can handle this ourselves.' Tony emphasised noticing the super soldier's hesitance; he had to convince him because he was worried Bruce would get hurt if SHEILD intervened. 'Although I wouldn't say no to a little help … of the Godly variety.' he added knowing deep down that realistically he and Steve were no match for the Hulk.

'I'll do my best to, keep the Hulk distracted - I'll be there as soon as I can.'

'Gotcha, gotta fly.' Tony said cutting the call, wondering exactly how he was supposed to keep the virtually indestructible rage monster distracted.

It didn't take Tony long to find the Hulk, he just flew in the opposite direction of the terrified people running toward him screaming and calling out for his help. 'BRUCE!' Tony shouted watching as the Hulk slammed a powerful fist into a police car, causing it to fly through the air and land on its roof. The Hulk didn't hesitate to crush the car with his foot as he charged down a heavily congested street. 'BRUCE!' Tony shouted once more as he weaved between trees and lampposts, but the Hulk was getting away from him and fast. 'JARVIS I need more speed buddy.' Tony told the AI and almost instantly he felt a burst in power. 'That's more like it!' he grinned as he closed in on the Hulk.

'Sir I must warn you that you will not be able to sustain your power levels for much longer if you continue at this velocity.' The AI warned him and at the same time a chart depicting his rapid loss of power appeared on his visual.

'Yeah yeah I got it.' Tony sighed, he was only intending to catch up with the Hulk who'd now started to scale one of the sky scrapers, obviously irritated by the amount of cars in his way and the police shooting at him from the street below.

Tony took a deep breath as he turned sharply and started to fly upwards gaining on the Hulk as he climbed the building. 'What are you after big guy?' Tony muttered under his breath; the Hulk certainly seemed to be heading in one particular direction through the city.

Tony managed to catch up with the Hulk as he leapt from one building to the next; almost gracefully he travelled through the air before landing on the next building using his strong hands and feet to grip the brickwork. Tony watched as he leapt from building to building and was suddenly reminded of a documentary he'd seen on squirrel monkeys doing the exact same thing as they flew through the trees.

Bravely Tony flew until he was right in the line of sight of the monster whose face still bore some resemblance to that of his friend – was Bruce still there? Would he be able to hear him? Would he be able to fight back and take control over the Hulk once more? Tony made the decision there and then that he had to try and speak to Bruce and so he opened the front of his helmet so that the Hulk could see his face. 'Bruce? It's me Tony …' he said searching the creatures face for any sign of recognition; even if Bruce couldn't hear him surely the Hulk knew him as Iron Man, his team mate? Surely he wouldn't hurt him?

'Bruce?' he asked again when the creature paused and turned to look at him once more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** M

Chapter 4

The second Tony spoke Bruce's name the monster was sent into a wild fury and before Tony even realised what was happening the Hulk shot out a huge green hand and ripped the helmet clean away from Tony's face almost taking his head with it. Tony barely had time to register this before the Hulk then took him roughly by the arm, crushing his armour, and swung him around, slamming him into the side of the building.

Tony groaned in agony, heard the disturbing sound of crushing metal and watched as sparks emitted from his suit. 'So not that Hulk proof after all.' he muttered under his breath. Tony barely had time to recover when the Hulk took him this time by the leg and swung him around, slamming him once again into the building with what felt like more force – the creature was really trying to do him some damage! Tony stretched out an arm and tried to fire energy from the repulsor on the palm of his hand however it failed, crushed beyond repair by the Hulk.

Not about to give up, Tony fired from his left palm and from the chest piece at the same time but both shots missed as the Hulk suddenly let go of Tony causing him to tumble through the air until he regained control of his flight which was a little difficult with only one stabiliser operational. Tony looked up to see what had caused the Hulk to release him and found the monster had been distracted by arrow fire from a helicopter that hovered in the air above the sky scraper the Hulk had almost reached the top of. Tony flew higher to get a closer look and soon saw that Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye, was the owner of the arrows and was accompanied by Director Fury and Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow, in the pilot's seat. 'Great.' Tony muttered under his breath.

Tony watched as Hawkeye fired perfectly aimed arrows at rapid speed; arrows which exploded when they hit their target – the Hulk. However, the explosions merely aggravated rather than harmed the Hulk who climbed higher up the building toward the roof and toward the helicopter. Tony flew up knowing that the Hulk was planning on taking down the helicopter once he reached it, he had to get there before him.

'Try the sedative!' Tony heard Fury shout to Hawkeye and he watched as Clint selected a large arrow from his quiver; he aimed and fired, the arrow hitting the Hulk in the shoulder. Tony saw a vial of bright blue liquid on the side of the arrow slowly drain until it was empty; he paused as did the Hulk and the passengers on the helicopter to see if the sedative would work … it soon became clear that it had failed to have any affect.

Tony pushed on further watching as his suit's power levels drained on his visual but he didn't care, he had to reach the helicopter before the Hulk. Suddenly, Tony cried out as the Hulk grabbed him around the waist and brought him down to eye level. 'Don't! We're friends right? Team mates?' he said, his eyes wide and fearful eyes darting over the Hulk's wild green ones.

The Hulk growled, crushed Tony in his hand like a ginger bread man and then let go.

Tony tried to get enough power so that he could fly but the suit was far too damaged and so all he could do was fall. Tony looked up to see the Hulk take one giant leap, grab hold of the tail of the helicopter carrying Clint, Natasha and Fury and snap it clean away like a twig.

Tony began to pick up speed as he fell, pieces of the helicopter tail falling with him. Flashbacks of falling through the wormhole flashed before his eyes but he knew there was no Hulk to save him this time and no loved one to call to say goodbye. Tony simply closed his eyes and felt strangely at peace despite the sound of the helicopter struggling to remain in the air, the roar of the Hulk, gunfire, sirens and screams all around him.

Behind all of that noise Tony noticed something else, an unearthly sound – metallic and whistling. It was faint at first but gradually grew louder. Tony suddenly felt himself slow down and then almost as quickly he was gaining speed again but travelling, flying, in the opposite direction. Tony knew that it wasn't his own suit responsible for the flying so what was it?

Ton's eyes opened and he looked up to see a blur of blond hair, red and then a flash of silver; he screwed up his eyes in concentration and saw the silver came from an enormous hammer stretched out in front of him – this was the source of the sound - the Mjölnir – and that could only mean one thing.

Thor.

Tony cried Thor's name in joy. 'You sure are fond of a last minute rescue!' he shouted up to the God who just smiled down at him.

Tony was set down on the roof of a nearby building, next to Captain America who was there shouting instructions to the rest of the Avengers team. Tony glanced over at the rooftop to see that Black Widow, Hawkeye and Fury had all safely escaped from the helicopter and were rushing over to greet Thor who had landed on the rooftop once occupied by the Hulk who seemed to have disappeared.

'Are you all okay? Anyone? Do you copy?' Steve demanded to know. 'Confirm are you okay? Are any of you injured?' Tony realised that Clint, Natasha and Fury must have confirmed their status and Steve seemed satisfied with their answer. 'Okay we need to track down the Hulk, get moving, I'll get Tony to a hospital and then I'll join you.' he instructed.

"Hospital?" Tony thought shaking off the idea, he wasn't that badly hurt - just a scratches and possibly a few bruises, nothing to be alarmed about.

It was when Steve knelt down beside him that Tony realised he was lying down – had he fallen? He couldn't remember. Steve set down the shield which he'd had clutched in his hand so that he could take Tony's. 'Tony can you hear me?' he asked squeezing his hand tightly. 'We need to get you out of here, you've lost a lot of blood – can you walk?' he asked uncertainly.

"Blood?" Tony thought; he was bleeding? Where? He couldn't feel anything but then again that wasn't necessarily a good thing he considered. 'We have to find Bruce.' Tony replied ignoring Steve's questions. 'I can't believe you called in SHEILD!' he cried angrily.

'I had to.' Steve replied simply.

'Always have to play it by the book don't you.' Tony spat; he rolled over and pulled himself up off the ground but quickly buckled under the weight of his now un-powered suit and as a result of his injured leg. Annoyingly Tony had to accept the help of Steve who wrapped his arm around his waist and put his shoulder under Tony's arm to support him. Together they hobbled toward the stairwell which would take them down to street level.

Paramedics rushed over the moment they made it down but Tony waved them away irritably; why were people acting like was about to drop dead at any moment? He wasn't that injured was he? 'Find Bruce.' he told Steve finally accepting that without his suit he wasn't going to be much help. 'Make sure Fury doesn't hurt him. This isn't Banner's fault – it's mine.' he told him. 'I wound him up, I pushed his buttons, I released the Hulk and so I am responsible for all of this.' he said gesturing to the ruined city.

Steve could tell that Tony was lying, protecting Bruce, but he knew this wasn't the time to argue over what had really caused the Hulk to go on a rampage. First and foremost, they had to stop the Hulk from causing any more damage.

'Go.' Tony snapped. 'Go!'

'Only if you promise to let these guys take a look at you.' Steve said nodding toward the ambulance crew. 'I'm not leaving unless you promise.' he added, but despite this he picked up his shield and secured it onto his arm.

Tony sighed. 'Yeah alright, I promise.' he muttered turning to look at the paramedics who quickly rushed over to him. Tony refused to let them strap him down onto a trolley and climbed into the back of the ambulance unaided although it pained him greatly to do so; Steve watched as they closed the doors before he set off to join his teammates.

Tony started to remove his armour, revealing just how injured he really was – perhaps Steve was right after all he thought, not that he would ever let the super soldier know that.

When the armour was off, the paramedics started to attend to him and Tony just let them do their job without fuss; he simply sat and stared out of the ambulance window as the city rushed passed them on their way to the hospital – he couldn't help but wonder where the Hulk was at that moment and just hoped that Bruce was okay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** M

Chapter 5

Pain sparked through every inch of Tony's body as he woke; he opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as he adjusted to the bright lights of the hospital room he found himself in. Tony couldn't remember arriving at the hospital, in fact he couldn't remember much after he'd climbed into the ambulance. Had he passed out? If so, how long had he been out for and more importantly had Bruce been found yet?

When Tony's eyes finally managed to focus he groaned, not because of his aching body or splitting headache but due to the sight of Director Fury staring down at him; Natasha loyally at his side. Neither of them looked particularly injured and they were lucky given the run in their helicopter had with the Hulk. 'Nurse get this man out of here.' Tony called to the woman checking his stats which were displayed on a monitor beside his bed. The nurse glanced at Tony, smiled sympathetically and quietly left the room.

Fury double checked the door was firmly closed behind her and turned to look at Tony. Natasha, meanwhile, checked the windows were all closed firmly – clearly there were press sniffing around the hospital and they didn't want their conversation overheard.

'Banner?' Tony asked pushing himself up into sitting position.

'He's been contained.' Fury replied simply.

'Contained?!' Tony growled thinking they'd slung Bruce in some cell deep within SHEILD headquarters. 'Now listen here Fury -' he started to argue determined to make him realise that Bruce was innocent in all this; he had no control over the Hulk.

'Relax Stark, he's back at your mansion – Clint and Steve are keeping an eye on him.' Natasha cut in. 'It took us days to convince him to stay, he was absolutely set on going back to Calcutta.'

Tony breathed a sigh of relief at the news that Bruce was safe and he hadn't done a runner as he suspected – well not yet anyway. 'So what do you mean by detained?' he asked glancing at Fury.

'Temporarily we've banned him from leaving the mansion.' Fury explained. 'We can't take the risk of the Hulk escaping again.'

'You can't keep him locked up for ever.' Tony muttered. In his mind locking Bruce up was a more dangerous option; restricting Bruce's freedom, watching him every minute of the day would only cause frustration … frustration which could quickly lead to anger … and that was certainly something they didn't need.

Fury nodded in agreement, even he wasn't stupid enough to think they could cage Bruce up like an animal. 'This is only temporary; we're working on something, a compromise.' he told Tony vaguely.

Tony looked at him expectantly but it was clear Fury wasn't going to elaborate any further just yet. Tony decided not to pursue the matter any further, Fury would tell him in time; instead, he focused on what was at the forefront of his mind. 'How long did it take you to find the Hulk? How did you take him down? Were there many casualties?' he asked. 'How is Bruce coping?' he added knowing his friend would be beating himself up badly, but it wasn't his fault – he wasn't responsible for the Hulk's actions and he wished he could see that.

'Minor injuries, no fatalities.' Fury confirmed. 'We lost track of the Hulk … eventually we found Banner wandering around the city in nothing but an old coat; he was out of it and so it was easy to coax him back to the mansion, getting him to stay was more difficult.'

Tony wanted to ask again how Bruce was coping but he knew Fury was unlikely to have considered his friend's emotional state – as long as he wasn't angry of course! All Fury cared about was keeping the Hulk at bay. 'I need to get out of here.' Tony said attempting to move; he needed to see Bruce but the moment he tried to get out of bed he was pinned down by Natasha who laid a strong arm against his battered chest. Ordinarily, Tony would have made a crack about the woman trying to contain him in bed but he wasn't in the mood for that right now.

'You're staying right where you are.' Natasha told him, making it absolutely clear that she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Tony sighed irritably, he was used to getting what he wanted and wasn't a fan of the opposite – suddenly he missed his AI, JARVIS, who would obey his every command without hesitation – computer programmes were just so much easier to deal with! 'Where is my suit?' Tony asked vaguely remembering through a haze of pain and drugs that he'd started to remove it in the ambulance. Now he was dressed only in a hideously green hospital gown and the suit was nowhere to be seen.

'We took what was left of it back to the mansion, it was causing quite a distraction amongst the nurses.' Natasha told him, a small smile crossing her lips. 'It's in your workshop.' she added.

Only a few words of Natasha's reply caught Tony's attention, and it wasn't her talk of nurses. 'What do you mean what's left of it?!' he cried in alarm. Now he was more determined than ever to get back home, he needed to see Bruce and needed to get to work on repairing his suit – he wasn't Iron Man without it and Iron Man was the only thing in his life that gave him a purpose, that made him feel worthwhile. However, the strong arm across his chest reminded him that he wasn't going anywhere soon and that his stay in hospital was non-negotiable.

'We need to talk about what happened and what we're going to do – clearly this arrangement of you and Banner living together isn't working. It isn't safe.' Fury continued.

Tony turned defensive. 'It was working just fine.' he muttered through gritted teeth.

'Until this happened.' Natasha chipped in. 'Things could have easily spiralled out of control, people could have been killed.'

'But they weren't.' Tony emphasised.

'And that makes everything okay?' Natasha growled. 'Steve told us that you were the one who wound Bruce up, that you deliberately pushed his buttons – all of this is your fault and you expect us to let it continue?' she hissed.

Tony swallowed hard, he'd lied to take the heat of Bruce, but it seemed to have backfired. In truth he didn't know what had caused the Hulk to be released, that was something he had to talk to Banner about but he wasn't about to let Fury know this. 'So what do you suggest then?' he asked knowing that Fury had a plan in mind; he was pretty certain that he wasn't going to like what he had to say and he was determined not to go through with whatever ridiculous idea he'd come up with. Yes Fury had brought the Avengers together but that did not mean he could dictate every moment of their lives; Bruce was his friend, he wasn't the monster, he didn't need to be punished and if they wanted to continue living together that was their business and not anybody else's.

Natasha and Fury exchanged a glance. 'We'll wait until you're up and about … tell the whole team together.' Fury replied with a rare smile which only un-nerved Tony rather than reassured him as intended.

'Something tells me certain members of the team already have the inside scoop.' Tony muttered glancing at Natasha, knowing instantly that if she was in on it then Clint was more than likely as well.

'We'll leave you to get your rest.' Fury said getting up and smoothing down his leather coat. 'We'll talk shortly.' he added before sweeping out of the room with Natasha in tow.

Tony stared after them wondering what their plans entailed but thinking about it soon brought back his headache; Tony closed his eyes and sank back against the pillows as a wave of exhaustion washed over him – his mind drifted toward Bruce, wondering what his friend was up to and hoping he was okay; he hoped he wasn't alone … he hoped Steve was looking after him in his absence. Bruce could do with a friend right now.

Tony was just drifting off to sleep when a small cough caused his eyes to open; he glanced in the direction of the sound and saw that it had come from Pepper Potts who was standing shyly in the doorway.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** M

Chapter 6

Bruce stared at the television set horrified by the news report which detailed the Hulk's path of destruction through the city; he didn't want to watch but couldn't help himself.

Shaky footage from handheld video cameras and mobile phones showed the Hulk crushing cars, scaling buildings and attacking fellow Avengers with a clear intent to kill. More and more footage had emerged in the few days since the "incident" (as his fellow Avengers annoying referred to it), videos littered the internet and all of the television channels – the story simply wouldn't die down and the more Bruce discovered about what had happened the more he hated himself. It didn't help that the mansion he was confined to still bore signs of the Hulk's presence – patched up holes in the walls, broken furniture which hadn't yet been taken away and the piano which still lay at the bottom of the swimming pool.

Sickened, Bruce covered his mouth with his hand as he watched the gold and red blur of his friend tumble through the sky plummeting toward certain death until thankfully he was saved by the swift arrival of Thor.

When the broadcast returned to the studio Bruce closed his eyes and sank back against the leather sofa, just listening to the voice of the presenter interviewing an eye witness and member of the fire brigade.

'I just don't understand …' The eye witness said after describing how they'd seen the Hulk attack the helicopter containing Hawkeye and Black Widow. 'I thought they were a team … I thought he was here to help us?'

'These people are out of control, we can't let this continue – they need to be locked up.' The fireman chipped in.

Bruce's eyes snapped open when silence suddenly filled the room; he glanced at the television to see it had been turned off and then looked over to see Steve Rogers with the remote control in his hand. 'I was watching that.' he muttered irritably.

'Listening.' Steve corrected as he perched on the edge of the sofa. 'Bruce it's not worth torturing yourself over.' he told him, sighing wearily. 'Three days have passed and you've done nothing but watch the news channels. I know you haven't slept a wink … that you just pretend so you don't have to face the rest of us.'

Bruce knew at once that Steve had consulted JARVIS; the sophisticated piece of software which had been tasked with tracking and monitoring his every move ever since the "incident" would have easily been able to tell the difference between a sleeping human and one pretending to be. 'Thanks a lot buddy.' he muttered addressing the AI. 'I thought us housemates stuck together.'

'I'm sorry Sir.' The AI replied. 'Mr Stark programmed me to follow his orders and those of Captain Rogers in the event of his absence.'

Steve's eyebrows rose at this news – he knew Tony didn't particularly like him, but clearly he respected his leadership of the Avengers team. Perhaps the cocky billionaire wasn't so bad after all Steve considered.

'You should rest.' Steve told Bruce simply.

Bruce ran his hands through his hair and then over his exhausted face. 'And how do you expect me to do that? Every time I close my eyes I'm reminded of what I did.'

'What he did.' Steve emphasised. 'It was the Hulk's doing not yours, you have to remember that.'

Bruce shook his head, Steve simply didn't understand – everything the Hulk did was because of him, he was the reason the Hulk existed after all.

Bruce got up; he'd had enough of listening to Steve and decided to go to his room - no one was brave enough to disturb him there.

'I'm going to visit Tony later, you should come.' Steve said as Bruce stalked past him. 'I've already cleared it with Fury.' he added.

Bruce paused at the sound of his friend's name and hovered uneasily in the doorway – he was desperate to see him, needed to know how he was because he wasn't satisfied with what Fury and Romanoff had told him after they'd visited him but he was scared too. 'I can't.' he mumbled terrified of facing Tony, of seeing him broken and knowing he was the reason why. How could he dare visit him knowing what he'd done?

Steve got up from the sofa and followed Bruce out of the room. 'He wants to see you, he's been asking after you.' he called to Bruce who was already halfway down the corridor. 'I'm leaving in an hour if you change your mind.' he added not wanting to push the scientist.

Bruce just ignored Steve and headed to his bedroom, collapsed on his bed as he entered his safe haven. "Tony wanted to see him?" he thought, thinking of what the Cap had said. "Tony had asked for him? Did that mean he was forgiven?"

Bruce closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep but it was no good and he was soon up on his feet pacing his room – his eyes drifted toward the clock, should he go with Steve? Was he really welcome?

Steve was planning on just leaving the mansion and Bruce under the watchful gaze of Hawkeye without asking if he wanted to accompany him to the hospital for a second time – he'd already given Bruce the chance to accept his invitation and had wait another five minutes after the hour warning. However, Steve had a change of heart just as he was about to leave the house and headed toward Bruce's bedroom just to ask one more time.

Steve didn't reach the bedroom as he met Bruce in the corridor. 'Oh good you haven't left yet.' Bruce said breathless from running and trying to pull on his coat at the same time.

'You're coming with me?' Steve grinned. 'Good.' he added when Bruce nodded to confirm. 'I'll let Clint know.'

'Already in the loop Cap.' They heard Clint reply.

Steve glanced up to see Hawkeye perched on a rafter high up above them and smiled up at him. 'We won't be long – I'll call you if there are any problems.' he said glancing at Bruce apologetically as he said the words.

'There won't be any problems.' Bruce muttered under his breath, he was not a child that needed to be babysat and was determined to prove that.

Bruce stared out of the window as Steve drove toward the hospital; he watched as the fire brigade, police and locals worked to put the city back together again and knew the Avengers should be out helping but perhaps they weren't welcome anymore Bruce thought sadly; he knew that the damaged caused to their reputation would take far longer to repair than the city. Bruce also noticed the moment they set off that Steve had locked the doors of the car and that his shield was close at hand – clearly trust was also something they had to rebuild.

'I'm glad you are coming and I know Tony will be pleased to see you.' Steve said trying to make conversation to ease the tension in the car; he could sense that Bruce was having doubts over the visit and didn't want him to change his mind or worse bolt completely. It had taken a lot to convince Fury that it was a good idea to let Bruce leave the mansion and Steve didn't want all his hard work to go to waste – and he certainly didn't want Fury to have a reason to say "I told you so."

'Tony has been asking after you.' Steve continued when Bruce didn't reply. 'He's very worried.' he added. Bruce just grunted disbelievingly. 'He's your friend and he understands that this isn't your fault.' Steve told him as he parked the car outside the hospital.

Bruce climbed out and glanced around him anxiously; he pulled the sleeves of his shirt down over his hands and balled them up in his fists, chewing on his bottom lip nervously – perhaps this wasn't a good idea after all he thought looking at the car thinking of the safety of his bedroom back at the mansion and wishing he'd never left it.

'Come on you're here now.' Steve said jutting his head toward the hospital entrance. 'Might as well go in.'

Bruce just nodded, his desire to see Tony overruling his urge to bolt, and followed Steve making sure he kept well away from the staff, patients and other visitors rushing around him. None of them knew who he was, but he felt their eyes on him judging him, scrutinising him like they knew exactly what he had done to their city, to their home.

Steve coaxed him along until finally they reached the private ward which was much quieter than the rest of the hospital; Bruce let out the breath he'd been holding and tried to force himself to relax but if anything he felt more closed in and more dangerous. 'Steve you'll make sure I don't … that he doesn't …' he mumbled starting to feel panic rise up inside of him – what if "The Other Guy" decided to surface here? Right now?

Steve turned to look at Bruce and could sense something was happening, that Bruce was starting to lose control. 'It won't come to that.' he said as calmly as he could. 'I trust you Bruce.' he said laying his hand on his shoulder and smiling confidently. 'You are here to visit your friend,' he said nodding toward the room they'd stopped outside of, 'and I know you won't let the big guy spoil that.'

Bruce nodded; he took a deep breath and stepped up to the door – peering through the glass panel to look inside. Tony was sound asleep, and wasn't hooked up to life support machines as Bruce feared – in fact he looked quite at peace. The sight of him alive and well caused Bruce's shoulders to drop, his fists to uncurl and the feeling of panic to subside.

'Go ahead.' Steve smiled when Bruce turned to ask permission to enter the room. 'I'll be right outside if you need me.' he said taking a seat next to the door. 'Take as long as you need.'

Bruce nodded. 'Thanks.' he said taking another deep breath before entering the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** M

Chapter 7

Bruce stepped cautiously into Tony's room and closed the door behind him; it was eerily quiet – the only sound was the slow steady bleep of the machine monitoring Tony's heart. The room was in semi-darkness, a nurse or someone had closed the blinds but sunlight peeked through some of the broken slats casting long shadows across the bed and up the walls. The only other source of light in the room came from the arc reactor glowing brightly in Tony's chest just visible beneath the lurid green hospital gown; the sight reassured Bruce and calmed him instantly.

Bruce's eyes drifted over Tony whose body was mostly covered by the bed sheet and hospital gown and he wondered how many bruises lay beneath. Bruce's eyes darted over Tony's peaceful face, a black eye and swollen bottom lip stared back at him causing a stab of guilt to pang in the pit of his stomach.

Taking a deep breath, Bruce drew the lone chair in the room up beside the bed. He touched the back of Tony's hand with his fingertips pleased to find them warm not ice cold like he'd feared. 'Tony?' he whispered just in case his friend was dozing rather than sleeping, he'd give anything for him to open his eyes and smile one of his cocky smiles right now but the billionaires eyes did not flicker and his lips did not twitch.

Bruce searched Tony's face whispering his name one more but again there was no sign that he had heard him – he must be deep in sleep he concluded.

Bruce wrapped his fingers around Tony's finding comfort in their warmth. 'God I'm sorry …' he exhaled sharply as he dropped his head and rested the back of Tony's hand curled against his forehead. 'You being here is all my fault.' he muttered bringing their joined hands down and stroking them over his cheek; he watched the steady rise and fall of the waves that monitored Tony's heartbeat through his tear filled eyes. 'You've been asking to see me and I can't understand why. Why would you want me here of all people? I put you here … I nearly killed you. Steve and Clint keep telling me that it's not my fault and I want to believe it but I can't. I created the … the Hulk …' he said swallowing hard at the name he hardly ever used - the name the beast seemed to have adopted. 'I'm the reason he exists and he's part of me whether I like it or not. It's my weakness, my lack of control that causes his release so how can I not blame myself?

Bruce's eyes darted over Tony's closed ones. 'I wish you would wake up, I feel safer with you whether you're Iron Man or not I feel as if I can control him. Right now I'm fighting to hold him back but I know I won't be able to for much longer; I'm exhausted Tony, I can't sleep … all I see is you falling through the air again just like in New York but knowing this time I can't save you because I'm the one that let you go. If it wasn't for Thor I'd have lost you, I'd have killed you and that thought haunts me. You're my only friend in the world and I hate myself for putting you here.'

Bruce's eyes snapped up when he felt the fingers in his hand twitch; his eyes darted over Tony's that flickered open. 'Hi.' Tony croaked smiling at Bruce. 'I was wondering when you'd show your face.' he teased.

Happy to see his friend alive and well Bruce jumped out of the chair and threw his arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

'Watch it big guy!' Tony groaned still feeling rather sore and tender despite the copious amounts of pain killers the doctors seemed to be pumping into him.

'Sorry!' Bruce cried letting go instantly; he pushed his glasses back up his nose, grabbed the chair which had fallen to the floor and sat back down rubbing furiously at his eyes with the sleeve of his cardigan – he did not want Tony to know he'd been crying.

'Nice speech by the way.' Tony said laying back down and smiling at Bruce. 'And stop being so hard on yourself, what happened wasn't your fault and if you won't believe Steve or Clint then believe me – I like to think I know you better than them, the big guy too.'

Bruce's eyes darted over Tony's. 'You heard what I said?' he asked flushing with embarrassment. 'I thought you were asleep.'

'Precisely, you thought I was asleep.' Tony said laughing which caused him to cough due to his battered chest.

Bruce closed his eyes for a second or two. 'You're a sneaky sod.' he muttered opening them, smiling despite his words.

'It's the only way I can keep myself entertained in this place.' Tony said glancing around the four walls he'd had three days of staring at. 'You wouldn't believe what people say when they think you can't hear them; I had a great time listening to two nurses discussing how hot they thought I was; I could hardly keep a straight face!' he chuckled, coughing again.

Bruce quickly got up to get some water for him and helped Tony sip it before he set it down on the table beside the bed. Bruce's words still echoed through Tony's head and he wasn't sure how to convince Bruce to give up on the guilt and self-hate; he did not blame him one bit for what had happened and he did not want their friendship to change because of it; it wasn't often Tony made friends, it wasn't often anyone could put up with him!

'Why didn't you come before?' Tony asked looking at the bedcovers rather than Bruce; they were avoiding talking about what Bruce had said a moment or two ago but there would be time for that later - Tony had decided to pretend to be asleep to get some honesty out of Bruce who he knew would cover up his feelings, he wasn't quite expecting how honest he'd been and wasn't sure what to make of it just yet. 'I thought you'd be here when I woke up, instead I had Fury staring down at me – not a great sight to wake up to.'

'And I'd be better?' Bruce mumbled shyly as he glanced at his reflection in the mirror opposite the bed – a week's worth of stubble, almost a beard in fact, tired old face and dishevelled hair stared back at him - yes a great sight to wake up to Bruce thought glumly.

'You're my friend.' Tony smiled. 'Of course you'd be better.' he said causing Bruce to blush once more. 'Speaking of waking up to a shock, what happened the other morning?' he asked remembering how he'd opened his eyes to find the Hulk staring back at him.

Bruce sighed and shook his head. 'I'm not sure what happened.' he said not looking Tony in the eye. 'I can't remember.' he lied.

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. 'Bullshit.' he shot back, not believing him for a second. 'Come on Banner you can at least be honest with me - you owe me that.'

Bruce chewed at his bottom lip; he didn't want to tell Tony the truth, he'd been trying to forget it himself but Tony was right, he owned him an explanation give how the situation had spiralled out of control and he'd nearly died as a result. How he was going to tell him was a different matter; what was the best way to tell your only friend in the world that you had woken to find yourself curled around them, nose to nose, and in an obvious state of arousal - a state that had panicked you so much that you'd bolted and your control had momentarily slipped but it was enough to let that dangerous side of yourself loose?

Bruce looked at Tony who stared back expectantly; he sighed and nodded his head. 'Alright I lied … I know what happened but it might make you uncomfortable.' he said glancing at him anxiously.

'Spill it Banner.' Tony replied impatiently. 'We need to know so we can make sure it doesn't happen again.'

'Oh it won't happen again.' Bruce quickly replied, there was no way he was letting that happen again.

'Ms Potts.' Steve said jumping up when he saw Pepper heading toward him carrying to polystyrene cups of coffee. 'What are you doing here?'

Pepper frowned. 'Visiting Tony of course, I just went to fetch coffee – you know how cranky he can be without caffeine.' she added. 'And you?' she asked politely.

'I came to see Tony too.' Steve told her. 'And to accompany Bruce.' he added nodding his head toward the door to Tony's room.

Pepper frowned, stepped up to the door, peered through the glass and she saw Bruce and Tony talking; whatever they were discussing appeared to be very serious – in fact she'd never seen Tony so sombre. 'You brought him here? Are you crazy?!' Pepper cried spinning around to confront Steve, spilling some of the coffee in her haste. 'He's the reason Tony is here! Tony nearly died because of him!'

Steve opened his mouth to reply, to reason with Pepper, but she was having none of it.

'Don't tell me it's not his fault – that green monster is part of him.' Pepper raged. 'How could you bring him here? How could you put Tony at risk like this.' she said setting down the two cups on a nearby chair and turning to the door of Tony's room.

Steve quickly jumped up and blocked her entrance. 'Mam with respect I believe you will only do more harm if you go in there all guns blazing; this is a very delicate situation.'

Pepper gritted her teeth. 'Tony was an inch from death.' she hissed. 'All because of that him and you expect me to just stand here and do nothing? Bruce has you all fooled, Tony the most – he's dangerous and you just let him swan around play acting the hero.'

'Mam -' Steve started to reply.

'No.' Pepper cut across him. 'You saw what he did to the city, it was a miracle no one was killed but next time -'

'There won't be a next time.' Steve said crossing his arms across his broad chest. 'Fury and I are going to ensure that.'

Pepper's eyes narrowed. 'And how exactly are you going to do that?' she asked sceptically.

Steve shook his head. 'That is confidential, but you'll find out in time.' he told her. 'Please don't despair Ms Potts.' he said guiding her away from the door and to a seat. 'Tony asked to see Bruce and it took a lot to convince him to come. Bruce wants to ensure Tony's safety and the safety of the city just as much as you and I.' he explained.

Pepper begrudgingly took the seat Steve steered her toward; he clearly wasn't going to let her refuse. 'Then he should turn himself in rather than hide; he should tell the world who he is … he should be locked up.' she replied in a hushed voice, not wanting Bruce or Tony to overhear her.

'You think there is a cell that contain the Hulk?' Steve asked with a raised eyebrow. 'That is not the way to handle this; besides Bruce shouldn't be punished for what the Hulk has done.'

'They're the same person.' Pepper retorted.

Steve shook his head; he took the seat beside Pepper and picked up her hand, clasping it in her own. 'They are not and we all need to remember that. Besides the Hulk is invaluable to all of us – without him we wouldn't have stood a chance against the Chitauri and we certainly don't need him as an enemy.'

'Do you really think he can be trained? That he can really work as a team?' Pepper asked not believing it herself. 'Tony kept telling me he trusted Banner especially after the Hulk saved him in New York – then the next thing we know it's the Hulk throwing him off a building.'

'Just trust me.' Steve said resting a hand on Pepper's shoulder and looking her in the eyes. 'Please Ms Potts just trust me.'

Pepper's eyes darted over Steve's and although she was unsure she couldn't help but want to trust the Captain. 'If Tony gets hurt again because of the Hulk I'm holding you personally responsible.' she said after nodding her head in agreement.

Steve just smiled warmly. 'It won't come to that.' he said confidently.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 8

Bruce was reluctant to leave Tony's bedside but he also knew his friend needed his rest; Bruce tore himself away and said his goodbyes before heading toward the door to leave the room; his heart was heavy, to see Tony confined to the hospital bed, hooked up to machines was painful and although he was trying convince himself that it wasn't his fault but the Hulk's he still felt incredibly guilty and responsible for Tony's injuries. Bruce could also feel Tony's frustration; he knew the genius wanted – no needed – to be up and about, tinkering and inventing but the most the nurses ever allowed was for him to complete the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper that was delivered to him.

'Bruce.' Tony called causing Bruce to pause at the door, his hand resting on the door handle. 'About what you told me … it doesn't matter to me and I'd hate for it to change things between us.'

Bruce felt himself grow hot under the collar; having to tell Tony the truth about why we'd woken to find the Hulk looming over him was incredibly embarrassing and he'd felt rather awkward afterward. However, Tony had barely blinked an eye at his confession – in fact Bruce sensed it had only boosted his already inflated ego. This, along with Tony's wish for things to remain the same between them reassured Bruce and he felt the awkwardness drain away. 'Thanks.' he mumbled pushing his glasses up his nose.

Tony smiled at him. 'Go on, you'd better go otherwise Steve might actually fall asleep.'

Bruce glanced over his shoulder through the glass panel in the door and saw Steve's head start to droop. 'He's not slept much … none of us have. I think he's been hitting the gym quite hard.'

Tony sighed sadly. 'He takes everything personally, anything that happens he takes responsibility for … perhaps he's not so bad after all.' he added thoughtfully.

Bruce's lips twitched into a smile; it was nice to hear that Tony was softening toward the Super Solider but he didn't expect them to be best of friends any time soon. 'So are you going to lighten up on him a little?' he asked.

Tony just scoffed at the mere suggestion. 'Fat chance, it's too much fun winding him up.' he said flashing Bruce a wicked grin.

Bruce chuckled, he expect nothing less of Tony; he turned to leave once more. 'Goodnight Tony.'

'Night and get some rest will you?' Tony called to him. 'Next time I see you I expect you to be bright eye and clean shaven … not that I'm not fond of your new look but we can't both be rocking the sexy stubble.' he said rubbing his own stubbly cheek.

Bruce rolled his eyes at Tony; he was about to reply and suggest that Tony was the one to shave but he didn't because he wasn't sure he liked the idea of a bare face Stark – he liked him looking just the way he was … well perhaps without the black eye and swollen lip. Bruce shook these alien thoughts from his head and swiftly left the room.

Steve quickly jumped up from his chair; pretending he hadn't been about to fall asleep on duty and asked Bruce if he was ready to go to which Bruce nodded. 'Ms Potts is going to accompany us, she wants to collect a few things for Tony.' he explained.

Bruce simply nodded and glanced sideward at Pepper, smiling politely. Pepper was equally polite in return but Bruce could sense tension between them. Pepper had never been particularly keen on him even though it was the Hulk that had saved Tony's life. At first Bruce suspected it was only annoyance because he'd moved into her and Tony's love nest. It wasn't Bruce's fault that Tony preferred to spend an evening with him in his workshop or in his den watching sports rather than with her but Pepper seemed to blame him none the less. Bruce sensed that things had changed between Pepper and himself and for the worst; Pepper simply disliked him anymore – she seemed to despise him! Bruce knew why too; she blamed him for what had happened to the City, to Tony, and he couldn't fault her for that because to a certain extent he still blamed himself.

Bruce noticed Pepper stuck closely to Steve and seemed reassured by the shield he carried which she kept glancing at as they headed to the car park. The car journey home was tense with Steve desperately trying to diffuse it by talking non-stop; he even invited Pepper to stay for dinner which she quickly declined,

When they arrived at the Stark mansion, Bruce headed straight to his bedroom, put on some music to help him relax and tried to push all thoughts of Pepper from his head because thinking about her and her attitude toward him would only cause him to get angry. Bruce lay back on his bed and a relaxing bath and flicked the volume on the stereo down a couple of notches – it was one of Tony's CDs, one which Bruce remembered complained about when Tony had blasting out of his workshop but now it only made him feel safe. 'JARVIS let me know when Pepper has gone.' he instructed the AI.

Bruce settled back and closed his eyes; he pictured Tony – his eyes, his smile and the cool blue glow of the arc reactor which soothed him. Bruce felt a stirring in the pit of his stomach, a feeling he couldn't place or understand. After a few moments Bruce felt himself start to drift into a doze. Perhaps the visit to the hospital had been what he'd needed after all because this was the first time since the "incident" that he'd felt remotely at peace about to fall asleep. To know Tony was okay and that things between them were also okay reassured him – perhaps now he'd be able to put things back on track.

'Sir Ms Potts is about to leave.' The AI suddenly announced causing Bruce to stir from his doze; Bruce glanced at the clock – it was late now and he appeared to have slept for a couple of hours much to his relief.

Bruce slipped off the bed and headed over to the window; he ducked his head under the drawn curtains and peered down into the courtyard below when Pepper and Steve were talking beside the car which had drawn up to collect Pepper. Bruce watched Steve hug Pepper and then kiss her on the cheek before he picked up the bag she'd packed and carried it over to the car – ever the gentleman Bruce thought smiling to himself. From what he could see the bag contained clothes and toiletries for Tony including the flame red pyjamas which he himself loathed.

After the car had disappeared and he was sure Steve had turned in for the night; Bruce left his room and padded barefoot down the corridor toward the kitchen with the aim of filling his growling stomach – this had to another good sign because it was the first time he'd felt remotely hungry since the "incident."

After devouring anything and everything he could get his hands on in the kitchen including two bananas, a handful of grapes, several slices of bread and jam and the majority of a carton of orange juice Bruce headed back down the corridor toward his room. However, his feet carried him in a different direction and he found himself outside Tony's bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 9

Bruce ran his hands down the smooth wood of the newly fitted door and felt a stab of guilt in the pit of stomach as he glanced at the repaired hulk shaped hole in the wall which was awaiting plastering and painting. Bruce stepped into the room and noticed a broken bed had been replaced – no doubt this was Steve's doing as he'd arranged for most of the household repairs whilst Bruce stuck to his room to ashamed to face what the Hulk had done. The bed had been dressed in an alarming shade of red and appeared to be drowning in scatter cushions which he'd never seen before – Pepper's influence Bruce thought surprised to find himself irritated by this.

Bruce closed the bedroom door and sank back against it; he breathed in Tony's scent which filled the room and sighed sadly, missing him even though that he'd visited him earlier that day; the mansion just didn't feel the same without him and despite Steve and Clint's constant presence and eyes on him he couldn't help but feel lonely without Tony there to wind him up and tease him.

Bruce pushed himself off the door and circled the room; he wrinkled his nose when he got a whiff of Pepper's perfume mixed in with Tony's comforting scent. Trying to ignore it, Bruce headed to the wardrobe and slid open one of the mirror-fronted sliding doors; he ran his fingers over the shirts which hung neatly inside – business shirts, mostly in black. Bruce stroked a collar here and there and then let one of Tony's numerous silk ties slip through his fingers.

Bruce closed the wardrobe and then circled the room once more; he wasn't sure what he was doing there or what he was looking for but he felt restless. Bruce noticed that Pepper had left a drawer slightly ajar – he headed over and opened the drawer to find that it contained Tony's more casual t-shirts; Bruce lifted one out and unfolded it smiling when he noticed it was the very same shirt Tony had worn when they'd first met on the heli-carrier.

'Bruce?' Bruce's eyes snapped toward the door when he heard Clint calling his name – clearly he'd noticed that he was out of bed. The door to Tony's bedroom opened and Clint peered inside. Bruce bumped the dresser drawer closed with his hip and held the t-shirt behind his back. 'Bruce are you okay?' Clint asked with a frown. Bruce knew he must be wondering what he was doing sneaking around Tony's room, and actually the same thought crossed his own mind.

'I'm fine.' Bruce snapped more harshly than he intended; he quickly scuttled past Clint and shut himself in his bedroom. Bruce instructed JARVIS not to let anyone disturb him and then sank back on his bed clutching Tony's shirt tightly in his hands; he breathed in his scent and wished Tony home more than ever; he was sick of everyone monitoring his every move and sick of not being able to leave the house without a chaperone.

Bruce could feel himself begin to rile up and knew he should warn Steve and Clint that the might have an unwanted guest.

'Bruce, calm down.' A voice whispered in the dark room.

Bruce turned to find Tony lying on the bed next to him wearing his usual cocky smile. Bruce stared at him – was he real? No he couldn't be which must mean he was either hallucinating or dreaming. Whichever the case, it was it didn't matter because Bruce instantly felt his anger die away and his body relax at the sigh to him and that cool blue aura which wrapped around him like a reassuring hug.

'It's not worth getting angry over.' Tony continued. 'Just relax.' he soothed reaching out and stroking his fingertips down Bruce's chest. 'You're tense … relax …' he coaxed shuffling closer to him. 'Your shoulders are like rocks.' he said massaging one with his strong hand.

Bruce glanced down and found himself suddenly naked – flushing with embarrassment Bruce turned to Tony and found him naked too – well his torso at least from what he could see as the rest of him was covered by the bed sheet. Bruce swallowed hard – he must be dreaming he concluded more confused than ever when he realised that he didn't want to actually wake up from this very surreal dream.

Tony's hand left Bruce's well massaged shoulder and stroked through the thick dark hair at the base of his neck; he leant forward and his lips touched the outer shell of his ear causing a shiver to sweep down Bruce's spine. Tony's lips drifted down Bruce's jawline before finally resting at the base of his neck which he happily nibbled at.

'Tony …' Bruce breathed somewhat uncertainly.

'Do you want me to stop?' Tony whispered drawing back and smiling up at him confidently. Bruce gazed back – he billionaire was so bloody sure of himself and it only increased Bruce's sudden desire for him.

All uncertainty melted away; Bruce turned on his side and sought out Tony's lips which he claimed for his own kissing him with fierce enthusiasm. Bruce felt Tony sigh into his open mouth as the kiss broke and they panted for air; the sigh was one of relief Bruce detected - relief that they'd finally found each other, relief that this was finally happening. Knowing Tony wanted this as much as he did Bruce wrapped his arms around Tony's slim waist and pulled him on top of him as he rolled onto his bed. 'Oh God Tony …' he groaned kissing him again; his hands delving into his hair.

Tony broke the kiss and sat back; his hands resting on Bruce's chest. Bruce was not quite sure of Tony's equal nakedness now that the billionaire was on top of him. Tony smiled down at him confidently. 'Banner.' he grinned rolling his hips. 'You want me, I can tell you're desperate to have me.' he whispered bending low and pressing delicate kisses to Bruce's sternum.

Bruce sighed happily and wriggled ticklish. 'Yes … yes I do.' he admitted unable to deny it. 'Kiss me.' he begged.

Tony pushed Bruce's arms up and pinned them above his head by his wrist; he rolled his hips again causing Bruce to moan as excitement swept down his spine.

Bruce gazed up at Tony who smiled down at him. 'I feel as if we've been waiting forever for this.' he confessed. 'Like we've been dancing around each other.'

Tony pressed a quick kiss to Tony's lips. 'Well no more.' he promised.

Bruce sighed heavily. 'It's just a shame this is all just a dream.' he whispered staring up at Tony whose face slowly started to blur at the edges – the dream was falling apart as he spiralled toward waking and Bruce desperately wanted to cling to it.

'Does it matter if it's not real?' Tony asked kissing him softly; his hands stroking down his chest.

'Yes.' Bruce whispered sadly; he closed his eyes and tried to focus on Tony but the taste and texture of his lips slowly faded away and suddenly he felt the room turned dark and cold.

Bruce reluctantly opened his eyes to find himself awake and alone; the weight of Tony on top of him was gone and so was the reassuring blue light of the arc reactor.

Bruce was not alarmed by the dream as he expected himself to be, more depressed that it was over and that the contents could never be real. When had this happened? When had his feelings toward the cocky billionaire changed? How was he supposed to face Tony now?


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 10

Bruce eventually managed to doze off again and this time without the un-settling vision of Tony in his bed; he'd only been asleep for an hour or so when the sound of his mobile vibrating against the wooden surface of his bedside table woke him.

Bruce quickly located his glasses and slipped them on lopsidedly; he sat up and called to JARVIS to turn on the lights. Squinting against the brightness, Bruce reached for his phone and opened the text message he'd received; he was expecting it to be important – from Steve or Clint, perhaps even Fury himself, but he quickly realised that he should have known the only person to text him in the middle of the night would be one very bored genius. Even when confined to a hospital bed Tony could still managed to be a right pain!

"I'm bored, what are you doing?"

Bruce groaned – what the hell did Stark think he was doing at this hour?! He decided that he wasn't going to respond, giving Tony the attention he wanted wasn't necessarily always a good thing, and so set the phone down, slipped off his glasses and snuggled back under the covers calling to JARVIS to turn off the lights as he did so.

However, Tony didn't seem ready to give up just yet and after ignoring a barrage of text messages Bruce knew Tony wasn't planning on letting up until he answered him. Bruce once again sat up, pulled on his glasses and picked up his phone:

"Bruce? Are you asleep or just ignoring me?"

"What are you doing? Come and visit me."

"BANNER?!"

Bruce patiently typed out a reply, telling Tony that he had been asleep and that he couldn't possibly visit him at this time of night … besides even if he wanted to Steve was hardly going to let him.

"Sneak out, come on Banner are you a man or a mouse?" Tony coaxed in response.

Bruce couldn't deny that he was tempted; he wanted nothing more than to leave the house and walk freely wherever he liked but he knew if word got to Fury of a midnight escapade then he'd be locked up in a cell for sure or worse ... Bruce quickly pushed that thought out of his head and text Tony telling him he couldn't take the risk, for himself and other people. As much as he hated having to be chaperoned everywhere it was comforting to know there was someone to take "The Other Guy" down if need be.

Tony didn't reply for a few minutes and Bruce suspected he was sulking, perhaps he wouldn't reply at all; he waited a few more moments before giving up and turning in for the night once again. Bruce buried his face in the Black Sabbath t-shirt that nestled between his two pillows; he felt bad for Tony and knew it must be awful for him to be stuck in hospital, especially for a man so used to being constantly on the go, constantly tinkering, constantly thinking. He must be lonely too with so few visitors when he was used to people fawning all over him: woman, men … everyone who believed the persona Tony had created for himself. Bruce was quite sure if he didn't know the real Tony, the brilliant Tony, he'd positively detest him because of his egotistic, playboy public persona. It irritated him greatly when Tony acted that way around him, although he knew it was un-intentional … almost like he'd played the part for so long that he'd forgotten how to be himself. Bruce always saw through him and could snap Tony out of it by reminding him that he wasn't on display anymore – not when they were alone at least. These moments were becoming rarer; Tony trusted him now, he could talk to him and be himself without fear because they were just the same at their core.

"I understand, visit soon though I miss you."

Bruce stared at the message he wasn't expecting from Tony and his eyes lingered on three words in particular: "I miss you" he read over and over. Was it true? Did Tony really mean it? Well if he did he just meant that he missed teasing him, missed bossing him about and bouncing ideas off him – that was all it could possibly mean Bruce told himself.

The next time Bruce did visit the hospital was a couple of days, and a few interrupted night's sleep, later. Bruce had wanted to go sooner but Steve has insisted on staying at the mansion to supervise the final repairs – he wanted the place looking just right before Tony returned. Bruce had asked for Clint to accompany him but Clint seemed reluctant to be his sole supervisor given that Natasha and Thor were unavailable – even he had to admit Hawkeye wasn't a match for the Hulk alone!

Bruce was therefore confined to the house and spent a great deal of his time in Tony's workshop cleaning up his ruined suit – he wasn't sure why, because he was sure Tony would start work on a new suit the moment he got home, but being down in the workshop with the Iron Man suit was better than being stuck in his bedroom and he felt a little closer to Tony as he stared into the eyes of the face shield.

Bruce was surprised when he entered Tony's hospital room to find it empty aside from a nurse changing the sheets. 'Excuse me, I'm here to visit Mr. Stark?' Bruce asked clearing his throat nervously; he'd worked himself up in anticipation of seeing his friend and finding the room empty had caused a feeling of panic to rise up within him – where were those kind eyes? That reassuring blue light?

Bruce's anxiety settled when the nurse explained that Tony had been taking for physiotherapy and that he was welcome to wait for him to return; Bruce quickly excused himself and headed out of the room – he needed to see Tony with his own two eyes before he could relax. Bruce passed Steve who was at a nearby vending machine but said nothing as he passed; he was too busy looking at the ward signs searching for the right department.

'Wait up Bruce!' Steve called rushing after him, almost spilling hot coffee down himself; he tossed the polystyrene cup in the nearest bin and broke into job to catch up with the determined scientist marching on ahead of him. 'What's the matter?' he asked finally catching up.

Bruce quickly explained where he was going and stopped when he reached the right part of the hospital; he peered into the port hole of the first door of a long corridor and saw only a waiting room.

'Let's sit down, Tony will be out soon.' Steve coaxed a little alarmed by how riled up his friend seemed.

Bruce shook his head, marched down the corridor and peered in the next porthole – only to find a small room for storage of wheelchairs and crutches. Bruce continued on down the corridor checking each room until he found the one he was looking for.

'You shouldn't go in.' Steve said but Bruce ignored him. 'Bruce!' Steve hissed following Tony into the room where they found several pieces of gym equipment – a rowing machine, treadmill and several exercise bikes none of which were occupied.

Bruce was reassured when he saw his friend at the far end of the room – he was out of bed which that had to be a good sign surely?

However, after a closer look Bruce's feeling of reassuring started to die. Tony was walking precariously down a small walkway using two beams for support with a nurse at his side coaxing him along and a doctor at one end scribbling down notes on a clipboard. Bruce was shocked at how pale Tony looked and noticed that he was covered in sweat and panting with effort as he worked his way to the end of the walkway.

'I didn't realise it was this bad.' Bruce said feeling incredibly guilty; he knew the Hulk had crushed one of Tony's legs but thought the suit had protected most of him. However, it was quite clear that Tony could hardly walk and it was all because of him. 'I …' he stammered hating himself for what he'd done to his friend. Bruce glanced at Steve and saw betrayal in his features - he quickly worked out that he, Tony, Pepper ... everyone ... had been keeping the true extend of Tony's injuries from him. Bruce gritted his teeth as anger pumped through his body at the thought of everyone running around behind his back, trying to appease him, scared of setting him off and the fact Tony had been involved hurt, he thought Tony was the one person who could always honest with him - perhaps he wasn't been able to see through him after all.

'Come on let's wait outside for him to finish.' Steve said putting his hand on Bruce's elbow.

Bruce shook him free. 'Don't touch me.' he snapped glaring at Steve over his shoulder, his eyes flashing a dangerous colour of green. Bruce looked down and saw his clenched hands shaking and felt his breaths deepen. 'Sorry … I didn't mean …' he tried to say between rasps as he tried to force himself to calm down. 'Steve … get me out of here now.' he stammered.

'Bruce?'

Bruce and Steve looked over to see that Tony had spotted them; he smiled broadly but the rest of his face looked exhausted. Tony's smile faltered when he saw what was happening - he could see Bruce was losing control. 'Bruce listen to me ... look at me.' Tony called knowing he had to stop this before it spiralled out of control; he grabbed a pair of crutches and limped toward Bruce despite the doctor and nurse's protest.

Bruce backed away from Tony; he couldn't look him in the eyes - he was angry that he'd lied but he was also angry with "The Other Guy" and himself for letting this happen in the first place. 'Steve get me out of here ... do something ...' Bruce muttered leaning back against the wall for support; he could feel the Hulk fighting to break free and this only caused him to panic "The Other Guy" could not be allowed free, not here, not now … not with Tony in the room.


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 11

Bruce slumped against the cold concrete wall and slid down it until he was on his knees wrestling against the creature trying to escape from inside of him; his fingers scrabbled at the tiled floor as his whole body jerked and thrashed as "The Other Guy" tried to break free.

Despite his injuries, and the danger of the situation, Tony tossed the crutches to one side and eased himself onto the floor beside Bruce, ignoring the immense pain that tore through his ruined leg which buckled under the weight of his body. 'Steve get these people out of here.' Tony said jutting his head in the direction of the very alarmed looking medical staff. 'Hurry!' he shouted when he saw Steve glance hesitantly at them and then Bruce who was now pounding at the floor with clenched fists.

Steve snapped into action, taking the doctor and the nurse by the elbow and steering them toward the door. 'You need to get out of here too.' he said glancing over his shoulder to Tony, but he knew his words would fall on deaf ears – Tony wouldn't leave his friend.

'Just go!' Tony shouted irritably. 'And get this place on standby to evacuate, I might not be able to stop this.'

Steve opened his mouth to argue, to remind Tony that trying to stop the Hulk was the reason he was in hospital in the first place but he didn't say anything – Tony knew this already and was still prepared to try; the man was braver than Steve gave him credit for. Brave or stupid.

When the room was finally clear Tony returned his attention to Bruce. 'Listen to me, you have to calm down – focus on me.' he said taking one of Bruce's fists, uncurling his fingers and slipping his own through them; he wrapped his other arm around Bruce's heaving shoulders and rested his cheek against his. 'It's just you and me.' he whispered calmly. 'I'm your friend, I'm no threat to you.'

'Tony -' Bruce managed to croak, clasping his hand tightly. 'Get away from me. You have to get away.'

Tony squeezed Bruce's hand and held him firmly despite his thrashing. 'I'm not going anywhere.' he said gently stroking away the tears that ran down Bruce's face. 'The Hulk can do as he likes, he can hurt me all he wants but I'm not leaving you. You're my friend, my best friend my only real friend.' he said pulling him into a tight hug.

Bruce buried his face in Tony's neck and breathed him in trying desperately to control the beast. 'Please you'll get hurt.' he cried. 'Get away from me Tony.' he begged feeling himself start to slip away and the Hulk take over; he drew back and his eyes ran over Tony's face which still bore the cuts and bruises from the last time the Hulk had got lose – he couldn't beat the thought of it happening again and knew this time without the Iron Man suit to buffer the Hulk's onslaught Tony was sure to be killed.

'It's okay.' Tony told him hiding every trace of fear from his voice. 'Everything is going to be okay … we're not going to let him win.' he breathed, edging closer to Bruce who had backed away from him. Tony swept back his fringe and then stroked the palm of his hand down Bruce's face. 'You are stronger than him, I know you are.' he said his lips pressing against his. Tony drew back and saw a flash of Bruce's warm brown eyes behind the green ones of the Hulk. 'Come back to me Banner, take control.' he said their lips meeting in another clumsy kiss. Tony felt Bruce's body tighten with fear but he did not pull away.

Kiss followed hesitant kiss and gradually Tony felt Bruce relax into him until the kisses became seamless. Tony slid the palm of his hand down Bruce's cheek cupping his face gently, his thumb brushing over the stubbly skin as the kiss deepened.

Bruce pressed his mouth harder against Tony's finding strength in him to push back the Hulk; his fingers delved into the thick dark locks of hair at the back of his head; this was finally happening and for real and he wanted to savour every moment of it. Bruce let out a small involuntary moan as Tony's tongue eased into his willing mouth and slid over his own.

As they drew apart for air Tony rested his forehead against Bruce's. 'You did it.' he whispered smiling when he saw the final remnants of green drain from Bruce's eyes and his heart swelled – they'd done it! Together they'd stopped the Hulk from escaping! Tony's eyes darted over Bruce's face and he noticed his friend did not share in his delight – Bruce just looked utterly devastated.

'I'm a monster.' Bruce whispered his shoulders sagging as his breathing slowly calmed; how could Tony ever want him knowing what he was, knowing what he was capable of.

'You are not a monster.' Tony said taking Bruce by the shoulders and forcing him to look at him. 'You are a brilliant man, the best man I know and I won't have you believing anything else.' he said almost sternly. 'You need to start believing me, believing in yourself.'

Bruce looked up at Tony through his tear-filled eyes and shook his head, when things like this happened how could he believe that? If they hadn't managed to stop the Hulk escaping who knows what would have happened; this time they might not have been so lucky – people could have been killed because of him.

Tony wrapped his arms around Bruce and pulled him close. 'You are not a monster.' he implored, desperate for Bruce to believe him. Tony pressed a kiss to the outer shell of Bruce's ear. 'You are not a monster.' he repeated prepared to keep on saying it until Bruce believed him.

Bruce laid his hand over the arc reactor glowing brightly in Tony's chest and closed his eyes briefly – he knew he couldn't let this happen no matter how much he wanted it, it was too selfish because Tony would only get hurt or worse killed because of it. 'Thank you for stopping him.' he said turning away as Tony tried to kiss him again; he climbed up off the floor and looked down at his friend. 'But you shouldn't have come near me. The Hulk is not your friend, so don't for one second think he wouldn't kill you.'

Tony stared up at Bruce and could see how serious he was; he nodded his head quickly – he had to remember that even though the Hulk had saved him when he'd fallen back through the wormhole that didn't make him an ally. Tony swallowed hard, he wanted to talk about what had just happened but he didn't know how and now Bruce wouldn't even look him in the eye.

Tony's eyes darted over to the door as Steve entered. 'It's okay.' he smiled reassuringly at Steve who was looking at Bruce in confusion.

Steve closed his eyes briefly and breathed a sigh of relief.

Tony noticed that Bruce kept his distance whilst he was taken back to his room attended by Steve and several hospital staff and that he waited outside the room whilst they helped him back into bed and checked him over. Tony sighed heavily and glanced up at Steve once they were alone in the room. 'He's taking this very badly.'

Steve sat down in the chair beside the bed. 'He should be pleased that he held the Hulk back.' he said not understanding Bruce's depression. 'What happened Tony?' he asked.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. 'I talked to him.' he said simply, not letting on what else had happened between them. 'I just guess I got through to Bruce and he managed to fight back.' he added.

Steve just nodded; he ran his fingers through his short blond hair and he sank back against the back of the chair. 'So what happens now?' he said exhaling sharply – did he tell Fury what had almost happened and risk SHEILD taking Bruce away? Or did he cover it up?

'Take Bruce home and look after him.' Tony said glancing over at the door, wishing Bruce would come in so he could see him, he just wanted to let him know that everything was okay between them.

Steve nodded agreeing that the most important thing right now was to take care of Bruce – deciding what to tell Fury could come later once he'd had a chance to reflect on what had happened. 'And you're going to be okay?' he asked glancing at Tony who he knew was in a lot of pain due to aggravating his injured leg.

Tony just nodded; he closed his eyes as a wave of exhaustion washed over him. 'Just take care of Bruce for me.' he mumbled sleepily.

Steve got up and laid his hand on Tony's shoulder. 'I will, rest up and come home soon – we need you.' he smiled down at Tony having new found respect of the man he'd once deemed selfish and cowardly. Not anymore, not after the sacrifice he was prepared to make in New York, not after taking on the Hulk alone and being prepared to once more despite being injured and without his suit for the sake of innocent civilians.

Steve left the room once Tony had fallen asleep but did not find Bruce sitting the chair outside where he'd left him; at first he was concerned that Bruce had bolted but was relieved when he found him sitting in the passenger seat of his car. 'How did you get in?' he asked patting down his pockets failing to find his car keys.

Bruce held up the car keys. 'I learnt a thing or two when I lived in Calcultta.' he told the Super Soldier who he'd pick pocketed earlier.

Steve just rolled his eyes, took the car keys and climbed into the driver's seat. 'You'll have to teach me.' he smiled glancing at Bruce who looked absolutely exhausted. 'Come on let's get you home.'

'How is Tony?' Bruce asked as they started to move. 'And be honest with me please.' he added not wanting anyone to hide anything from him again.

Steve nodded, knowing they couldn't keep Bruce in the dark any longer; he explained the full extent of Tony's injuries just as he should have done from the start not holding back on any of the details even when it came to the difficult job of telling Bruce how the Hulk had crushed Tony's leg so tightly that pieces of his Iron Man armour had to be surgically removed from it and at one point amputation was even on the cards.

Bruce simply nodded, showing no emotion on the outside although on the inside his stomach twisted with guilt and his heart ached. When they arrived back at the mansion Bruce ignored Natasha, Clint and even Thor who was paying a rare visit and headed straight passed them; he planned to go straight to his room but paused in the hallway – listening in on what was being said between his team mates in the next room.

'Is he okay?' Natasha asked Steve who sat down with a weary sigh, accepting the glass of whiskey Clint handed to him.

Steve glanced at his fellow Avengers. 'He knows everything the Hulk did to Tony.' he said simply; this was all he needed to say to explain to Natasha, Clint and Thor how Bruce was feeling. 'We should never have hid it from him in the first place.' he added angry with himself for not anticipating Bruce finding out.

Natasha and Clint glanced at each other worriedly; they knew that a depressed Bruce was a dangerous Bruce and even though they were unaware of what had almost happened at the hospital they knew it was time they stepped up their security over the Hulk. 'I think it's about time we let you in on Fury's proposal.' Natasha said clasping her hands together.

Steve and Thor's eyes snapped toward Natasha and Clint. 'Go on?' Steve said sitting up straighter.

'In fact it's probably better if we show you.' Natasha said heading out of the room for a few moments and then returning with a tablet.

Steve and Thor glanced at each other quizzically, both wondering what they were about to be told and what part they would have to play; they both knew that their current arrangement couldn't go on forever, the Hulk had already escaped Tony's mansion once and there was only so much they could do to prevent it happening again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 12

Ever since the close call at the hospital Bruce hadn't left the mansion, the only fresh air he took came with a slow stroll around the gardens in the early hours of the morning whilst the rest of his housemates were asleep; Steve, Clint and Natasha seemed to have taken up permanent residence in Stark mansion with the odd addition of Thor when he came to visit. Bruce avoided them at all costs, confining himself to his bedroom where no one dared disturb him. He slept all day and was up most of the night. Eating, washing – even changing his clothes suddenly seemed to have become nothing but chores. Right now he was sporting rather long shaggy hair and stubble which was almost a full beard but he didn't care – what did his appearance matter? It wasn't like he was going anywhere anytime soon.

With Bruce's new nocturnal routine he barley caught a glimpse of his fellow Avengers and Pepper Potts who was at the mansion on more or less a daily basis now – what exactly she was doing there he wasn't sure because Tony was still in hospital.

Tony ….

Weeks had passed since he'd last seen him, since he'd last spoken to him, since … well Bruce didn't to dwell on what else had happened. At first Tony bombarded him with text messages which Bruce ignored; eventually he switched his mobile phone off all together because the messages which grew in frequency and desperation only upset him. Bruce's phone had been lying in the top drawer of his bedside table turned off and forgotten for over a week now.

Bruce heard the others whispering about him, wondering what to do, sometimes these whispers came from right outside his bedroom door but no-one ever knocked – scared of unleashing "The Other Guy" he assumed. It was their job to keep him at bay after all, they were his prison guards and no longer his teammates as he once considered them.

Steve was the person he saw and spoke to most but even this was rare; the Super Soldier would sometimes come down in the night and hover uneasily in the kitchen as Bruce ate or in the garden watching him stroll – he never initiated conversation, but Bruce would take the opportunity sometimes to ask after Tony.

'_He wants to see you.'_

'_He's asking to see you again, what do I tell him?'_

'_He's very upset, he said you haven't answered any of his calls or texts.'_

'_What happened between you two? You were always so desperate to see him, what has changed?'_

This was where the conversation would always lead, and this was how it would end because Bruce wouldn't reply, he'd simply return to his bedroom without another word. He wished he could open up to Steve but he just couldn't, there was only ever one man he could truly be himself with and he'd almost killed that man. Steve's growing closeness to Pepper also worried him, how much was Steve telling her? And how much was Pepper influencing Steve? He knew she wanted him out of the mansion, locked up even … would she try and convince Steve of that?

For the thousandth time that day Tony slid his mobile phone out from under his pillow and glanced at it, sighing sadly when he found no message from Bruce. His phone was littered with missed calls and texts from Pepper as well as other "friends" and business associates all un-opened because Tony was simply too tired for them right now; if they really cared that much they'd visit him. Pepper, Happy and Steve and occasionally Fury, Natasha and Clint were his sole visitors. The visits were usually short because Tony would grow frustrated with them and feign tiredness in order to get them to leave. Pepper usually resisted his attempts and stayed regardless – she could always see right through his lies. As much as Tony was pleased to have her at his bedside again he wished she would drop the subject of Bruce; most of her visits would wind up with her trying to convince him to eject Bruce from his mansion and would often result in an argument and one of them storming out.

Yes Tony was now capable of storming out, his leg was healing nicely and with the aid of crutches he could get around quite ably. Tony took as much advantage of the good spring weather as he could and often circled the hospital grounds, begging cigarettes from visitors or even other patients – a few recognised him and Tony would end up finding himself swapping autographs, war stories or pictures for cigarettes but he didn't mind so much because he got what he wanted in the end.

One morning Tony was leaning against the cold brick wall of the hospital smoking away when a car drew up. Tony knew instantly knew it was Steve and hoped to see Bruce with him; Tony quickly tossed the half-finished cigarette on the floor and crushed it with his slipper, he smoothed down his hospital gown and ran his fingers through his hair. Tony's heart beat quickened when he saw Steve walk around to the passenger side and open the door: _"Bruce, Bruce, Bruce …."_ was the only thought that ran through Tony's head but his heart sank when he saw the red head step out – Pepper.

Tony sighed heavily, he was pleased to have visitors of course but he was disappointed that Bruce was still avoiding him. Tony's hand delved into the pocket of his dressing gown and he glanced quickly at his phone once more – still nothing from him. He looked up again and frowned slightly when he saw Steve and Pepper embracing in the car park – obviously they hadn't spotted him.

Tony's eyes ran over them and he felt a surge of jealously pump through him – since when had the two of them become so close he wondered watching as Steve took of his leather jacket and draped it over Pepper's shoulders before coaxing her toward the hospital. That hug had not been one of friends he realised … it was one of lovers.

Tony took up his crutches which were leaning against the wall and quickly made his way back inside and to his room, his mind buzzing with the thought of the two of them together.

'Mr Stark you've been gone far longer than the half an hour I gave you.' Tony's nurse scolded as he entered the room. 'And you've been smoking again, don't try and deny it I can smell it on you.' she cut across him before Tony had a chance to defend himself.

Tony sank down on the bed and glanced at the tray of food the nurse had brought in for him. 'My favourite?' he asked glancing up at the nurse. 'What have you got in store for me today?' he asked suspiciously.

The nurse's expression brightened. 'I thought your last meal should be a good one.' she said with a broad grin. Tony's eyes darted over hers, hoping that what she said meant what he thought it did – his last meal? That must mean he was getting out of here? 'That's right.' the nurse nodded. 'The doctor will see you later and if he's happy then he'll discharge you later this afternoon ... I'd advise you not to smoke for the rest of the day.' she added crossly.

Tony couldn't help but laugh with joy. 'Thank you!' he cried actual tears coming to his eyes; he simply couldn't wait to be home again after weeks and weeks of being away. There was no way Bruce could avoid him now he thought, a satisfied smile crossing his lips as he eagerly tucked into his breakfast.

'I'll call your wife when it's time to collect you.'

Tony shook his head. 'She's not my wife, just an ex.' he told the nurse.

'Oh I see.' The nurse replied a little embarrassed. 'Well she clearly cares a great deal about you so perhaps there is a chance for you two again.'

Tony shrugged his shoulders, he thought so too at first but these days it seemed as if Pepper's only agenda was to get rid of Bruce. And anyway, from what he'd seen that morning she appeared to have only eyes for Steve. Anger coursed through his veins at this thought, not that it was Steve because he was a great guy and he'd be far better for Pepper than he ever could, but it was the fact he was an Avenger too. The whole reason his and Pepper's relationship had fallen apart was because of Iron Man, because of the Avengers, because of the danger and the risk they brought.

Before Tony had a chance to contemplate this anymore Steve and Pepper entered the room; Steve shook his hand warmly and commented that he was looking well and Pepper kissed him on the cheek and commented on the fact he'd been smoking. Tony said nothing as he continued to eat his breakfast; his eyes drifted over the two of them – Steve and Pepper – Steve and Pepper - but try as he might he couldn't understand it.

Bruce glanced out of his bedroom window and saw Steve's car pull into the driveway; he and Pepper had returned from the hospital … and he couldn't help but want to run down and ask how Tony was but he held back, deciding to catch Steve later that night when Pepper and her disapproving looks were not around.

Bruce watched Pepper and Steve talking in the courtyard below his bedroom window; he wondered if they knew just how much he'd seen over the past few weeks – all the stolen kisses they'd shared. He knew it was none of his business and that was why he hadn't brought it up with Steve or mentioned it to anyone else but he wondered how long they were planning to keep their flourishing relationship a secret – he hated the thought of Tony finding out the wrong way, he'd be very hurt if he did because despite the fact he and Pepper had been apart for almost a year now Tony still cared for her … he still hadn't come to terms with their break up just yet so to see that she had moved on would be hard for him.

Later that day Bruce was surprised to hear a sharp knock at his bedroom door; he sat up in bed and stared at it – no one had knocked on his door in weeks, so why now?

'Bruce?' Steve's voice came through the door. 'I've called a meeting, I want everyone together, it's important you need to be there. Five minutes, living room okay?'

Bruce didn't reply and waited until he'd heard Steve's footsteps heading back down the corridor until he climbed out of bed; he pulled on an old t-shirt and jogging bottoms before pushing his feet into his slippers. Bruce headed down the stairs and through to the living room to find Clint, Natasha, Thor, Steve and annoyingly Pepper all sitting in the living room – aside from Steve who was standing in front of the fireplace ready to speak to them.

Bruce hovered in the doorway and just looked at Steve, trying to ignore the feeling of everyone's eyes on him. 'So what is it?' he asked wanting to get this over with. What could be so important? The Avengers had taken on many missions in the last few weeks – without him and Tony of course and never once had Bruce been requested to attend any meetings.

Steve smiled warmly. 'I am pleased to tell you that Tony is being discharged this afternoon, he's coming home.'

'That is brilliant news!' Thor boomed getting up and clapping Steve on the shoulder. 'I will wait his arrival, I cannot wait to see my friend again.'

Steve smiled. 'Pepper and I will be picking him up in about an hour, I hope you'll all be here when we get back to greet him. I'm sure he'll be very happy to see you all.' he added his eyes flicking across the room to rest on Bruce's.

Bruce sank against the doorframe, his heart beating in his chest so hard he could barely breathe – Tony was coming home, Tony was coming home! Panic suddenly filled him and he bolted, heading back to his bedroom despite Steve calling after him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 13

Bruce flew up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door closed behind him. 'JARVIS lock the door and don't let me be disturbed.' he called as he headed into the bathroom. Bruce looked at himself in the mirror that hung over the basin and as he ran his hand down his stubbly cheek and then through his greasy long hair he realised for the first time what a mess he'd really let himself become.

Bruce desperately didn't want Tony to see him this way and so turned the taps on and took up his razor.

Clean-shaven a short while later Bruce looked again in the mirror and although the reflection staring back at him was a great improvement he was still unsatisfied with his appearance; he headed into the bedroom took a large pair of scissors from his desk and then returned to the bathroom. Bruce grabbed handfuls of his hair and cut at them with the scissors, chopping and snipping rapidly as clumps of hair fell onto the floor and into the sink. Bruce cut his hair short, very short, and then tossed the scissors to one side; he dived into the shower and scrubbed himself clean – his heart still beating quickly because he was aware at any moment Tony would be here.

Bruce dived out of the shower, dried quickly and hurriedly pulled on a fresh pair of clothes; he then took his usual seat at the window above the courtyard with Tony's black Sabbath t-shirt clutched tightly in his hand. And that was where he remained as he waited … and waited.

If felt like days had passed when he finally saw Steve's car pull up in the driveway. Bruce watched as Pepper jumped out of the passenger side and helped Tony out of the back of the car whilst Steve attended to his bags. Bruce couldn't help but smile as his eyes followed by Tony who strode inside, only needing one crutch to support himself; he whispered a silent prayer of thanks under his breath remembering it wasn't so long ago when he feared Tony would never make it home.

Bruce got up and headed to his bedroom door; he opened it a crack and stuck his head out into the corridor – he could hear cheers, woops and joyful voices downstairs as the others greeted Tony and although part of him was desperate to head down and join them another part was scared and caused him to hang back.

Bruce paced the floor of his bedroom trying to convince himself to go down and greet Tony but every time he reached the door he stopped himself.

Tony accepted handshakes, hugs, kisses on the cheek and pats on the back from his fellow teammates who all seemed so genuinely happy to have him home but really there was only one face in the crowd he wanted to see. 'Where is Banner?' Tony asked Natasha who pushed a glass of champagne into his hand.

'I'm sure he'll be here soon.' Natasha smiled not really answering the question.

Tony noticed the smile didn't quite meet her eyes and Clint who was standing close by visibly tensed. 'What's going on?' Tony asked, his eyes narrowing.

'Tell him Nat.' Clint muttered under his breath. 'No point hiding the truth.'

Natasha shot Clint a furious glare even though it was too late to shut him up, Clint had already said too much. Natasha sighed heavily. 'Bruce has hardly left his room the past few weeks,' she whispered. Tony wasn't sure why she kept her voice low because clearly everyone knew about it but him – he could tell by how the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed at the mention of Bruce's name. 'He's avoided all of us, Steve is the only one who can ever get anything out of him … even I can't … and trust me I'm one of the best.' she said placing her hands on her hips. Clint just rolled his eyes at her. 'We've kind of left himself to himself, figured he'd come out of shell eventually … I was convinced once you were home things would go back to normal, well as normal as things ever are for us.'

Tony said nothing and simply sipped at his drink; for the next couple of hours he waited patiently: chatting, catching up, accepting nibbles from Pepper who fussed over him and listened to all the Avengers war stories that he'd missed out on. Music filled the room and suddenly everyone was up and dancing save Tony who took the opportunity to slip out of the living room to go in search of Bruce.

Tony found Bruce's bedroom door locked, but after a quick word with JARVIS it soon clicked open at Tony's touch. Tony stepped into Bruce's room which was dark and saw his friend sitting in the window seat, bathed in moonlight and staring out at the city lights in the distance. 'Banner …' he sighed happy to see him despite the fact Bruce had been ignoring him for so long.

Bruce turned and his eyes fell on Tony's for the first time in weeks – he realised then how much he'd missed him. Tears instantly filled Bruce's eyes. 'Tony …' he choked. 'I'm sorry … I ...' he just shook his head; he knew how much it must have hurt and frustrated Tony not to hear from him for so long and wished that he could explain himself but the words just wouldn't come.

Tony tossed his lone crutch to the floor and made his way toward Bruce; he gathered his friend in his arms and hugged him tightly. 'Fucking bastard.' he growled into his shoulder as he breathed him in. 'How could you cut me off like that?' he muttered but he held him tightly despite this.

Bruce wrapped his arms around Tony's slim body and buried his face in his shoulder. 'I didn't know what to do.' he whispered, tears spilling down his cheek, leaving silvery trails on Tony's shirt collar.

Tony drew back and stroked away Bruce's tears before pressing his mouth against his. Bruce wasn't sure and froze at first but Tony wasn't about to give up so easily; he pressed several soft, eager kisses to his lips until the scientist caved and kissed him back. Tony sank into Bruce's embrace and the kiss deepened, growing in fire and intensity. Tony's hands gripped Bruce's shirt tightly whilst Bruce's hands dug deep into Tony's thick hair. 'Do you have any idea how much it's killed me not to hear from you?' Tony said drawing away, breathing heavily and staring down at Bruce with his swollen lips and dark lust-filled eyes.

'I'm sorry.' Bruce panted.

Tony rested his forehead against Bruce's whilst his hands cupped his face and stroked his cheekbones with his thumbs. 'I've missed you.' he confessed.

Bruce just nodded slightly, his lips sought out Tony's and they found each other once more. Tony's hands slid down his neck, his shoulders, and his chest and then finally rested on his waist; he pulled Bruce tightly against him, the kiss messy and desperate now but neither participant cared.

Tony pushed Bruce backward until he was pinned to the wall and his fingers were at his shirt, un-buttoning. 'Tony …' Bruce protested. 'Tony stop.'

'It's okay Banner.' Tony said popping open the last button; he pushed the shirt off Bruce's shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Kissing him again, he let his hands stroke and feel every part of Bruce's muscular torso, his skin firm, his muscles toned and his chest smattered with hair … everything so different to the soft silky skin of the women he was used to.

Bruce's tried not to lose himself in Tony's kiss and Tony's touch but it was hard not to, his lips were heaven and fingers irresistible. 'We mustn't.' he muttered weakly between kisses when he noticed Tony's hands were now at his belt.

'Don't pretend you don't want me?' Tony asked breaking away and staring at Bruce's lust blown eyes. 'I know you do.' he said when Bruce didn't reply. 'You're just as hard now as you were that morning.' he said pushing his body against the aching tightness in Bruce's jeans.

'And look where that got you.' Bruce said suddenly reminded of all that had happened after that morning. Bruce pushed Tony away from and picked his shirt off the floor. 'We can take the risk.' he said pulling it back on and hastily doing up the buttons.

'I won't let "The Other Guy" free.' Tony told him. 'I stopped him before, I can do it again.'

Bruce's anger flared up. 'No Tony!' he snapped. 'I knew this is what would happen so that's why I kept away, you like to think you're fucking invincible but you're not! You can stop him, he'll get out again and next time he'll kill you.'

'He saved me when I fell back through that wormhole.' Tony pointed out.

'Maybe but then the next chance he got he threw you off a sky scraper.' Bruce snapped angrily. 'Tony please you must understand he is not your friend or your ally.' he said forcing himself to calm down before things really got out of control. 'You can't trust him, one minute he might be on the team the next he'll turn one you. You cannot control him.'

'Fine.' Tony said picking up his crutches and heading toward the door.

'Tony …' Bruce said with a heavy sigh.

'You've made yourself perfectly clear Bruce.' Tony snapped over his shoulder before he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 14

After hovering outside Bruce's room for a few hesitant moments, Tony headed downstairs where his "welcome home" party appeared to be in full swing. Not in the mood for partying for perhaps the first time in his life, Tony slipped through to the kitchen and poured himself a generous glass of whiskey which he knocked back as quickly as he re-filled his glass.

'You might be out of the hospital but you're still recovering, I don't think drinking is a good idea – at least not while you're still on medication.' Pepper said appearing in the kitchen doorway.

Tony didn't bother to turn around from the counter he was facing. 'Leave off Pepper.' he muttered snatching up the bottle before she had a chance to take it from him; he glanced over his shoulder to see his ex with her crossed arms and a look which said _"I'm only looking out for you." _Tony turned back to the counter and took a deep breath to calm himself – he wanted to scream and shout, remind her that _she_ left him and that since they were not together anymore she couldn't tell him what to do. Tony also wanted to reveal that he knew all about her new relationship with Steve, wanted to know why him of all people? A fellow Avenger? Was her reason for leaving him just a lie - it had to be because Steve was no different, he was a fellow soldier who risked his life just as much as Tony ever had or would do. Tony squashed the desire to turn on Pepper, deciding to just keep his mouth shut - an argument with her was not something he didn't want to deal with right now.

Tony felt Pepper's eyes on him as he drained another glass of whiskey, he caught her shake her head with disgust out of the corner of his eye before she turned on her heel and left the kitchen with an audible sigh of frustration.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and sighed deeply; perhaps Pepper was right he considered as he screwed the cap back on the bottle – turning to drink wasn't a good idea and it was wrong of him to snap at her when she was trying to help. What he needed to do was to face Bruce, talk to him. Clearly the scientist wanted him, his kiss, so desperate and eager, said it all but "The Other Guy" was holding him back. Tony understood, of course Bruce didn't want to take any unnecessary risks but it was ager that led to the Hulk's release – what how much of a risk were they really taking? Besides, even if the Hulk did try and break free Tony was confident he could keep him at bay – he'd proven that at the hospital.

Tony decided one more drink for courage wouldn't do him any harm if he was going to face Bruce and quickly found himself unscrewing the bottle cap once more; he paused just as he was about to pour and felt eyes on him … but he knew instantly they were not Pepper's.

He'd always been able to sense _his_ presence, from the first moment they'd met it was like his senses were in tune with his.

Tony set down the bottle, straightened his back and flattened his shoulders, he took a deep breath but when he turned he saw the doorway empty. Tony frowned – he could have sworn he'd felt Banner's eyes on him. Tony's heart clenched at the sound of Natasha's voice as she greeted Bruce and commented on how much better he looked now that he'd cut his hair and shaved. Tony smiled slightly upon hearing this … had Bruce cleaned up for his arrival home?

~~~~AFTER THE WAR~~~~

Bruce had indeed been watching Tony from the kitchen doorway, only for a brief second before he left to join the party; he'd seen enough to know that he'd driven Tony to the bottle and felt guilty for it because he knew Tony was still recovering from what he – no - what the Hulk had don he correct himself. So Bruce joined the party, smiled, made small talk, nibbled at nibbles and politely declined any alcohol offered to him because unlike Tony, he couldn't risk turning to that. Tony seemed always to find solace in bottom of a glass but it was usually another who drove him to it Bruce thought glancing at Pepper and Steve dancing like that had no care in the worlds … well he guessed at this moment in time they didn't because they had each other and there was no current threat, no reason to assemble.

Bruce had always been the good guy, the best friend, ready and willing to listen but Tony rarely took the opportunity, finding more comforting in the cold hard burn of liquor than the warmth of his friendship.

~~~~AFTER THE WAR~~~~

Pepper rounded on Bruce the moment Natasha had left to dance with Clint. 'Nice to see you've cleaned yourself up.' she commented sipping from her wine glass. Bruce just glared at her, wondering what she wanted – she clearly despised him so why both to make small talk? 'You need to talk to Tony.'

Bruce's eyes snapped toward her – did she know what had happened between them? Had Tony told her? And what about everyone else he thought glancing around the room his eyes flicking from Steve to Natasha to Clint … did everyone know? Bruce's heart beat quickened and he felt panic over come him; perhaps this was all just some horrible joke at his expense he suddenly thought looking at their smiles and hearing their joyful laughter turn to that of scorn.

'Bruce?' Pepper asked worriedly; he glanced at Steve who immediately headed over.

'Everything alright buddy?' Steve said moving protectively in front of Pepper.

Bruce glared at him, his eyes flashing green as a warning - did he really think he was going to Hulk out right here and hurt Pepper? Is that how little he trusted him to keep control? Bruce felt shaky and sick, these people weren't his friends, none of them were friends not really … they were just a group of admittedly extraordinary individuals thrown together by SHIELD to do their bidding. It was all fake. Bruce suddenly felt lightheaded as his heart drummed in his ears – faster and faster until he felt the beginnings of an almighty Hulk roar bubbling in the pit of his stomach. A roar of frustration and anger at SHEILD for bringing him into the mess – why couldn't they have just left him alone!

'Have we got a problem here?'

Bruce's eyes snapped up and rested on Tony's. In a flash Tony was standing beside him, his hand on his shoulder warm and comforting and no trace of fear or worry in his eyes, he was different of he others, he wasn't scared of Bruce. 'Need some fresh air Banner?' he asked the scientist casually although he could tell things needed to cool down and quickly.

'Yeah please.' Bruce muttered concentrating on the blue of the arc reactor that he could just make out beneath Tony's black shirt.

'Come on then, I've got a hankering for a cigar anyway.' Tony said flashing Pepper a brief smirk – she'd always hated him smoking and knew she would disapprove even more now that he'd just been released from hospital. 'Come on Banner I might even let you have a puff.'

'I don't smoke.' Banner muttered letting Tony pull him away from Steve and Pepper.

'Well maybe you should start.' Tony said pushing him toward the door that took them out into the yard. 'Might calm your nerves.'

Bruce sighed with relief as he stepped out into the cool fresh air and sank back against the brickwork. 'Thanks for getting me out of there, you didn't have to … especially after …' he just trailed off and shook his head trying desperately hard not to think about Stark's mouth on his, his hands clawing at his back and …_ "God get a grip Banner!" _he shouted inside his head.

Tony leant against the wall sideways to Bruce and fixed him with an amused smile. 'I don't make friends very easily.' he confessed. 'So I'd like to keep hold of the few I have.'

Bruce glanced at Tony and smiled gratefully, he was happy that Tony still wanted to be friends with him after what had happened between them. 'Thanks.' he said feeling a lot of weight fall off his shoulders, it was good to know that he didn't have to worry about having to avoid Tony after what had almost happened between them.

Tony let out a deep sigh. 'Doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it.' he murmured reaching out and brushing lightly at a few crumbs on the front of Bruce's shirt. 'But I promise I won't try and jump you again, not until you want me to anyway.' he added with a cocked eyebrow.

Bruce's eyes darted over Tony's, he couldn't believe the billionaire basically confessed that he still wanted him like that; Bruce swallowed hard and wondered how to tell Tony that he'd always want him but could ever let it happen because it was too risky. 'Tony …' Bruce breathed not sure where to start. 'We can't.'

Tony's eyes slid over and rested on Bruce's. 'You mean you're too scared.'

'Of the Hulk yes.' Bruce whispered.

'No.' Tony said shaking his head quickly. 'You're scared of yourself, for letting your guard down and letting someone else in for the first time since the accident.' he said prodding a finger into Bruce's chest.

Bruce closed his eyes. 'That's not it Tony.' he said shaking his head; he wished he could explain, he wanted Tony to understand but he didn't understand himself just yet.

'It is.' Tony insisted. 'You think you're cursed, that you have to be alone forever because of him but you don't. The Hulk saved you, he'll always save you and he'll always protect you and that is something you can't change.'

'He threw you off a building.' Banner said choking at the memory of the footage he'd seen on the television, of the Hulk crushing Tony and then dropping him without any remorse. 'He nearly killed you.'

'And why do you think he did that huh?' Tony asked pushing himself off the wall and turning to stand in front of Bruce who still stayed slumped against it. Bruce shrugged and shook his head, tears in his eyes, how was he supposed to know what the Hulk's reasons were? Didn't Tony think he'd wished a thousand times to understand the beast? Tony leaned in close. 'Because he was trying to protect you, idiot.' he said his nose and lips and inch from Bruce's and his hands laid on the wall either side of his shoulders preventing him from being able to run away from the conversation.

Bruce's eyes darted over Tony's confused, what did he mean? Iron Man had never been a threat to the Hulk in the past, Tony's repulsors merely irritated rather than harmed him so why feel the need to protect Bruce? And why attack his fellow Avenger so brutally? Why not simply ignore him and carry on smashing like he usually did until he calmed himself down?

'The Hulk is always there, he senses everything.' Tony whispered not knowing this for sure but having a pretty good guess that he was right. 'You woke up next to me that morning and freaked out, you wanted to run, and the Hulk made sure you got away.' he said his eyes locked onto Banner's, their chests almost touching and they breathed heavily in unison.

Banner trembled and flashes of memories filled his head – waking up in Tony's room, panicking, knowing he had to get away and then the Hulk taking over. Rarely, very rarely, did Bruce ever remember anything once the Hulk had taken over but now his head was full of what had happened – throwing the bed to one side in a rage, smashing through the wall of Stark's bedroom and running … running away from Tony who was heading for the workshop … he _had_ been running away! Bruce sucked in a deep breath and stared into Tony's triumphant eyes – the cocky bastard thought he had him all figured out! Who did he think he was?!

Bruce pushed hard against Tony's chest, roaring as he did so and with a loud splash the two of them fell into the swimming pool. Bruce hit the water so hard he was pulled under and thrashed to get back to the surface but he was disorientated and because of the darkness he could not tell which way was up. Bruce stretched out his hands and cried out Tony's name as panic overcame him – he wasn't scared of drowning – he was scared of the Hulk not letting him drown.

Bruce opened his eyes and searched frantically for any indication of the surface, he could feel the Hulk scratching to get out but battled him down. Bruce eyes snapped to the left when he saw something – the bright blue of the arc reactor - Tony! Bruce swam toward him, but could feel himself weakening due to lack of oxygen but he pushed on determined to get to Tony.

Bruce kicked and cried out in protest when he felt arms around his middle and himself being pulled away from the light - away from Tony. All of a sudden a rush of air filled his lungs and he felt himself being pulled out of the pool and slammed down onto the cold hard surface. Bruce opened his eyes and stared around him, needing to see Tony and make sure he was okay, but all he saw Steve's bright blue eyes staring back at him angrily. 'What the hell were you doing?!' Steve cried pulling Banner up so that he was sitting up and slapped him hard on the back just to make sure all the water had left his lungs.

Bruce rubbed at his aching chest, the water burning his insides, and gulped down large mouthfuls of air. 'It was just an accident.' he muttered relief flooding his body when he saw Clint helping Tony out of the pool.

'Well we could do without those.' Steve muttered helping him up off the ground.

Bruce knew exactly what he meant, it was accidents like these that led to the Hulk escaping. Bruce glanced once again at Tony to check that he was okay before he walked away – heading back to the safety of his room ignoring the look Pepper gave him as he passed.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:** MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 15

Tony took a quick shower to warm himself up after his impromptu dip in the swimming pool and was just drying his hair with a towel when his bedroom door opened. 'You could knock.' he said to Pepper as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. 'We're not together anymore remember? This isn't your house … or your room.'

Pepper eyed Tony irritated with his pettiness but she didn't respond; she sat down on the edge of the bed and stared up at him. 'I came to see if you were okay.' she said simply.

Tony sighed heavily as he rubbed the towel over his bare torso. 'I'm fine why wouldn't I be?' he muttered heading to his chest of drawers and pulling out a t-shirt.

Pepper didn't say anything for a few moments and just looked around the room she and Tony used to share; since she'd moved out very little had changed on the surface but the room now had a more masculine vibe to it now that all of her trinkets were gone – her jewellery box, perfumes, make up and her soft toys were all gone and it was amazing the difference it made to the feel of the room. It really didn't feel like hers … theirs … anymore. 'So what were you and Bruce arguing about?' Pepper asked.

'I thought you came to see if I was okay?' Tony said pulling on a t-shirt he'd found and then his dressing gown. 'And Bruce and I weren't arguing.'

Pepper snorted with disbelief. 'He threw you in a swimming pool in the middle of the night Tony! If he really had no reason then that just proves my point that he's dangerous, I keep telling you that – why won't you listen? How many more times does something like this have to happen before you believe me? The man is unstable and given his … _condition_ … he shouldn't be allowed to -'

'You should get back to my party, it sounds like a cracker.' Tony cut across her abruptly; he'd heard this all from her before and didn't want to hear it again. Especially not tonight.

Pepper's eyes darted over Tony's and she could tell that he wasn't in the mood to talk. 'You're tired.' she said getting up. 'We'll talk in the morning when you have a clear head.'

Tony bit back a snarky response and was about to let her leave without another word but then thoughts of her going down to be with Steve crossed his mind. Tony swallowed hard. 'Pepper?' he said causing her to stop in the bedroom doorway. Pepper turned to look at him, her expression warm and inviting almost eager for him to open up to her and talk. She did still care about him, Tony could tell and so he bit back the urge to confront her over her relationship with Steve. 'Nothing.' he said shaking his head. The part of him that still loved her, the part that would always love her, told him that if Steve made her happy than he just had to accept it even if he didn't understand it. She deserved happiness and if she didn't feel ready to tell him about her relationship with Steve then so be it.

'Goodnight Tony.' Pepper smiled warmly before leaving the room.

When she'd gone Tony flopped down onto his bed and sighed heavily; his head was crammed full of conflicting thoughts and feelings - jealously, anger, desire, worry - and it ached terribly but perhaps that was more to do with the concoction of pain killers and whiskey he'd put through his system that night.

Tony thought about everyone else's opinion of Bruce; Fury was clearly suspicious of him and that bled through to his troops including Clint and Natasha who would somehow always belong more to SHIELD than the Avengers team; Pepper thought him dangerous and Steve a risk. Even Thor seemed nervous of him. Was Tony wrong to believe in Bruce as he did? Were his personal feelings clouding his judgement? Should Bruce really be locked up to keep the world safe?

Tony snapped out of these thoughts, angry with himself for even letting them cross his mind. Of course they were wrong! Bruce wasn't a bad person. He was troubled yes, but weren't they all? Bruce needed help and support not to be locked up like a dangerous animal. Bruce was the most brilliant, kindest, most gentle man he'd ever known and he was a good man too, the best man Tony knew, and he shouldn't be punished for the Hulk's actions which he wasn't in control of.

It was no wonder there were so many Hulk incidents or near-misses of late what with everyone behaviour putting Bruce was so on edge, getting him so wound up because he was constantly being watched and surrounded by people who were expecting him to Hulk out at any moment. It was no wonder minor things were setting him off.

Tony knew he should bear some of the guilt too, he pushed Bruce too far sometimes, hit a raw nerve or two which caused Bruce or the Hulk to lash out in defence. That was exactly what happened at the pool he realised; Bruce had spent years trying to cope with living with the Hulk, trying to understand him, and Tony just swanned into his life thinking he had answers to everything – no wonder he'd riled Bruce up so much!

Tony's eyes snapped toward the door when he heard a knock. 'Pepper?' he called wondering if it was her and she'd listened to him earlier when he'd told her to knock.

'It's me.'

Tony's heart jolted at Bruce's voice and he leapt out of bed to open the door. 'Hi.' he said licking his lips nervously and he straightened his robe. 'Are you okay?' he asked looking at his rather shaken looking friend.

Bruce nodded. 'I can't sleep.' he confessed.

'The music is pretty loud.' Tony nodded letting Bruce into his room and closing the door behind them.

Bruce just smiled slightly, both he and Tony knew the music had nothing to do with his lack of being able to sleep. 'You're okay?' he asked, his eyes sweeping down Tony's body and then resting on his face; he wasn't sure what he'd have done if he'd drowned him – there was no way he could have blamed the Hulk for that one.

Tony smiled and nodded. 'I was pretty annoyed to see my piano at the bottom of the pool though.' he said causing Bruce to laugh as the tension drained from his body. Tony smiled wickedly. 'Perhaps next time the big guy is around you could get him to put it back?' he suggested.

Bruce smiled shyly but nodded at the suggestion; he sat down on Tony's bed without invitation and stared up at the man he so much adored. 'You were right.' he told him.

Tony smirked. 'I'm right about a lot of things, most things actually, so you'll have to be more specific.' he said taking a seat next to Bruce.

Bruce turned to look at him, his eyes sweeping over Tony's face – the face he'd been scared of never seeing again thanks to the Hulk. 'I was running away that morning I woke up next to you.' he explained. 'And The Other -' Bruce paused. 'The Hulk.' he corrected himself. 'He was protecting me just like you said. I guess I always thought he protected me only physically but now I realised he protects me on all levels … even my feelings.'

Tony nodded his head slightly. 'So what were you afraid of?' he asked gently.

Bruce's eyes swept over Tony's. 'Rejection mostly.' he confessed before averting his eyes and staring down at his hands, a hot blush creeping up at the back of his neck. 'Also what it meant … you see I've only ever loved one person and she … well she decided it was all too much. She couldn't cope with me and The Hulk no matter how much she wanted to make it work. I guess when I woke up that morning with you I realised I was finally getting over her, that unconsciously I ready to move on and that terrified me more than anything.'

Tony was amazed at how similar Bruce's situation was to that of his and Pepper's breakup and that they'd never talked about it before … then again that was his own fault because he'd never talk to anyone about Pepper before, not even Bruce, his best friend because it just hurt too much and talking about it meant it was real and that was something he didn't want to face at the time. Tony suddenly wondered if Bruce was so keen to talk to him about Pepper was because he himself needed to open up over his own breakup and suddenly felt selfish for being so closed.

'I shouldn't be considering moving on.' Bruce continued. 'I shouldn't let myself have feelings for anyone given who I am and what could happen.'

Tony laid his hand over Bruce's. 'All it shows is that you're healing and you're coming to terms with the Hulk and him being permanent fixture in your life.' he told him, his fingers folding around the scientist's. 'You can't be alone forever Bruce, you need to accept that and stop punishing yourself.'

Bruce nodded. 'I guess …. but I'm just so scared of hurting you.' he said glancing at Tony; his eyes grew wide when he realised what he'd said and he quickly looked away. 'I mean people who are close to me.' he gabbled. 'That's why I shouldn't be part of this team – that's why I shouldn't let myself have friends.'

Tony clasped Bruce's hand tightly. 'You need to start trusting yourself and trusting us that we can look out for ourselves. You and I will find a way to keep everyone safe including yourself.' he told him. 'The Hulk must have a weakness, he must have a trigger and there must be away to bring you back when we need to and we won't stop working until we find it. I swear we won't - got it?' he said squeezing Bruce's hand tightly.

Bruce glanced at Tony and saw the determination emblazoned in his eyes; he nodded. 'Thank you.' he smiled knowing if this man with all his money and resources and of course that genius brain of his couldn't help him then no one could. 'I still don't understand why you believe in me so much? Why you trust me when no one else does?'

Tony rolled his eyes. 'Do you really need me to explain?' he asked leaning in and pressing his lips to Banner's in a chaste kiss. 'Idiot!' he added affectionately causing Bruce to colour deeply.

Tony slipped his hand out of Bruce's and laid back on the bed. 'So?' he said with a sly smile crossing his lips and a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. 'How long have you had feelings for me?' he asked with a grin.

Bruce grabbed a pillow and thwacked Tony with it. 'I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of knowing or boosting your ego any more than it already is!' he laughed.

Tony attempted to wrestle the pillow from Bruce but the scientist kept a firm grip on it. However, Tony knew exactly what to do to distract him; he let go over the pillow allowing Bruce to think he'd won before he climbed over Bruce until he straddled his lap. Tony pressed against his shoulders, easing him down onto his back and then lowered himself down over him staring down at him watching as Bruce's eyes grew dark with desire. Tony plucked the pillow from Bruce's hands easily and tossed it to the floor. He leant down to press a kiss to his lips but paused, his lips and inch from Bruce's and kept his eyes on him.

It was Bruce's turn to make the move because Tony had to be sure this is what he wanted.

Bruce propped himself up onto his elbows and craned his neck up until his lips bumped clumsily against Tony's. Delighted, Tony kissed him eagerly, his tongue swiping over his bottom lip causing Bruce to sigh deliciously and open his mouth in acceptance.

Tony drew back after a languorously long kiss and his eyes fixed on Bruce's. 'Okay?' he asked.

Bruce shivered slightly as he nodded.


	16. Chapter 16

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:**MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 16

Bruce's hands scrabbled through Tony's thick dark hair as their mouths locked together in a bruising kiss; Bruce pushed all thoughts from his head, thoughts telling him this was dangerous, too much of a risk and focused solely on Tony - Tony's chapped lips, bitten with worry, his body warm and solid against his own, his stubble scraping against his jaw. One kiss melted into another until they were seamless, the two of them breaking apart and breathing in sync before going back eagerly for more.

Without even realising when or how Bruce found himself shirtless and considering this mightily unfair, he pawed Tony's own shirt off his shoulders. Bruce drew back from the kiss and touched the arc reactor lightly with his finger tips, smiling as the cool blue light filled the room.

"You're the only person I've ever known to look at this without even a hint of disgust in their eyes." Tony whispered stroking his nose against Bruce's cheek and kissing him chastely on the lips. "Thank you."

Bruce's heart swelled at Tony's words. "Maybe it's the scientist in me but I find it fascinating." he replied. "Beautiful too, just like the man it's keeping alive." he added with a shy smile.

Tony groaned and Bruce's words went straight from his heart down his body causing an uncomfortable tightness to swell in his trousers; his lips sought out and claimed Bruce's and he poured ever ounce of appreciation he felt for the scientist into the kiss.

Bruce opened his mouth and accepted Tony's eager tongue, a rush of desire running down his spine as it stroked over the roof of his mouth before tangling with his own. Bruce's fingers stroked through Tony's hair and tickled down his neck before digging into his shoulders when Tony nipped at his lower lip.

"Tony..." Bruce panted as the kiss broke; Tony slid his lips and finger tips down Bruce's neck and his chest pausing as his hands reached Bruce's belt buckle. "We should wait." Bruce said cursing himself for being so sensible but he knew it was for the best, emotions had been running high all night and he didn't want to risk the Hulk escaping.

Tony sighed Bruce's name in disappointment but at the same time he nodded slightly and his fingers let go of Bruce's belt; the tickle of Tony's warm breath against the sensitive skin just below his navel as he sighed caused Bruce to chuckle. Tony glanced up at him and smiled. "I haven't heard you laugh in a long time." he commented as he moved back up the scientist's body until their lips met once more. "It's a good sound." he said between kisses.

What felt like a thousand kisses later, Tony broke away from Bruce and grinned down triumphantly. "I knew you wanted me."

Bruce gently elbowed Tony in the stomach as he wriggled out from underneath him. "Smug git." he teased as he straightened his glasses. "Anyway I did try my best to resist, I think I did pretty well to hold back as long as I did."

"Too well." Tony said as he rolled onto his back and watched Bruce smoothe down his clothes and run his fingers nervously through his hair. Bruce glanced at Tony touching his lips with his finger tips and smiled shyly. "I should go ..." he said but with uncertainty.

Tony's eyes locked onto Bruce's and he swallowed hard. "You could stay?" he suggested trying to sound casual, afraid of sounding both too eager and of pushing Bruce too much too soon. Bruce hovered uneasily and Tony saw his eyes first dart over to the door and then the bed. "Just sleep, that's all I have in mind." Tony added quickly. "Actually I could do with some company, hospitals can be pretty lonely places."

Bruce felt a stab of guilt at these words, knowing he shouldn't have stopped visiting Tony as he had done, that had been selfish of him - he should have been able to put aside his own feelings for Tony's sake, stuck in that hospital room day after day must have been torture for someone like him - so used to doing exactly whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.

"Stay?" Tony asked gently.

Bruce found himself nodding nodded slowly. "Okay ..." he said swiping his tongue over his bottom lip anxiously.

"Great!" Tony grinned tossing back the covers and climbing under; he patted the space next to him invitingly. "Come on hot stuff."

Bruce rolled his eyes but chuckled as climbed into bed beside Tony; he took off his glasses, folded them and set them down on the bedside table. "I prefer your use of "big guy" as a choice of nickname." he pretended to grumble.

"Whatever you say big guy." Tony replied as he reached out and carded his fingers through Bruce's hair. "You know I wasn't being completely truthful when I said I only wanted to sleep." he whispered.

Bruce's eyebrows rose. "Oh yeah?" he asked, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling with excitement.

Tony pressed a kiss to the shell of Bruce's ear. "I was kind of hoping for a cheeky snog or two." he admitted.

Bruce couldn't help but chuckle and it was a good feeling to feel too relaxed if not a little alien after so long of worrying over the Hulk; he turned to face Tony and moved a little closer to him, soaking up his warmth and basking in that soft blue light that filled the otherwise dark room. "You sound like a teenager." he remarked.

"You've made feel like one." Tony replied edging even closer, so close the tips of their noses almost touched. "Sweaty palms whenever you come close, a dry mouth every time I try to think of something witty to say to you and not to mention the stomach flips when you enter the room. I'm usually so much better at this you know?" he said tracing the outline of Bruce's collarbone over his t-shirt.

Bruce hummed slightly, finding himself relax even more at Tony's touch. "I know, I've seen you in action remember?" he replied. Tony looked in his eyes and they both knew that it all had just been an act, a bravado, a front Tony put on when he wasn't feeling secure enough to just be himself. In fact the only time he seemed to be able to do that was when he was tinkering in his workshop, or at home with Bruce when they were watching sports or a movie together - whenever there wasn't an audience for him to perform to Bruce supposed.

"Hey is this my shirt?" Tony asked just making out the design of the Black Sabbath t-shirt in the dim light. If Tony was able to see properly he'd have been able to spot not only that it was indeed his shirt but also the deep blush creeping down Bruce's neck. "Looks good on you." Tony said when Bruce didn't reply. "Keep it."

Bruce let out the breath he'd been holding, he was sure Tony was going to question him over why he was wearing the t-shirt and how he'd obtained it in the first place but he relaxed when it was clear that Tony didn't care about either of these things. "Took you long enough to notice." he replied feeling rather brave.

"I wasn't looking at the finer details, I just wanted it off you." Tony replied. "Speaking off which I think it's only fair that you take it off."

"You chose not to put your shirt back on." Bruce replied matter of factly.

Tony's eyes flashed with mischief. "fine I'll put it back on then." he said crawling across Bruce and reaching down to the floor to pick up his shirt; he pulled the black t-shirt on and instantly the soft blue light filling the room faded to nothing more than a murky grey. "Better?" he asked settling back down beside Bruce.

Bruce knew exactly what Tony was trying to do but he was stubborn and wasn't going to let him win. "Fine by me." he said turning onto his side. "Goodnight Tony."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Good night Bruce." he replied a little gutted his plan to get the scientist shirtless had failed - another night and he would be successful he promised himself as he settled down to sleep. Tony turned onto his side and threw a heavy arm over Bruce and drew him into close to his body. "Don't you dare think about doing a runner on me." he mumbled into his ear.

Bruce glanced over his shoulder at Tony and smiled. "Promise." he whispered; he turned back and closed his eyes sighing with relief - relief that he didn't have to struggle over this anymore, feeling for Tony the way he did and not expecting them to be remotely reciprocated.

When Tony woke in the early hours of the morning he found himself as he usually slept, on his back and laid out straight with the small amount of covers Bruce hadn't acquired for himself bunched around his waist. The room was once again filled with the soft blue light and Tony looked down to find his shirt hiked up exposing his chest and the arc reactor; he quickly found Bruce to be the culprit, sound asleep with his head in the crook of Tony's arm and hand bunched in the shirt keeping it up.

Tony had never been one for wasting time sleeping; there was plenty of time to sleep when you were dead after all! Life was for living and he had plenty to be getting on with thanks to his stint in hospital - his number one priority being the design and construction of a new Iron Man suit. However, Tony knew he couldn't just up and leave when he'd so adamantly insisted that Bruce didn't run out on him, so he did not get up right away as he usually would have but stared up at the ceiling, listened to the gentle thrum of the arc reactor and allowed himself to just think ... he thought about his new suit, _Bruce_, Pepper and Steve, _Bruce_ ... it seemed Bruce kept coming back around to the forefront of his mind but perhaps that was because the man was asleep practically ontop of him despite being already sprawled across three-quarters of the bed, hogging the quilt and snoring to his heart's content. None of these things bothered Tony, in fact he found it rather amusing, but he did marvel at how different it was to having Pepper in his bed, compared to Bruce she slept like and angel.

Tony eased himself out from under Bruce when he felt pins and needles start to spread up his arm and turned onto his side, wincing slightly as he rested on his injured leg which had ceased up during the night. Rather than get out of bed and stretch his leg, Tony just lay and watched Bruce with contentment and wondered how had it come to this? How had he ended up with a brilliant scientist, a man with sever anger-management issues in his bed? One that he was so happy to have there and one that he was determined to find a way of keeping there.

TBC

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates; plot bunnies and real life had hit hard recently. I hope this wasn't too awful!


	17. Chapter 17

**Title:** After the War

**Characters/Pairings:** Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/ Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and others.

**Summary: **In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

**Warnings:**MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

**Rating:** 15 / T

Chapter 17

When Bruce woke the following morning it took him a few moments to realise where he was and when he did work out that it was Tony's room, Tony's bed, he did not do as he did last time - he did not panic, he simply smiled. Well it was more than just a smile, a silly boyish grin was the way describe it. Clearly it wasn't just Tony that had been reduced a teenage boy stupidly happy that they'd managed to get to first base with their crush. It was quite embarrassing really, Bruce told himself but he still couldn't quite manage to shift the grin from his face.

"Finally! You're awake at last!" Tony exclaimed when Bruce rolled over and looked at him through sleep heavy eyes. "And I didn't think your hair could get any messier." Tony said reaching out and tucking a stray curl behind Bruce's ear. "Even bed hair makes you look sexy." he commented. "How do you do that eh?" he mused.

Bruce shrugged and smiled contently. "What time is it?" he asked just registering Tony's greeting when he'd woken.

"The time is precisely 8.02am Sir."

After jumping at the abrupt announcement from JARVIS Bruce rolled onto his front and groaned into his pillow. "Firstly." he said lifting his head to look at Tony. "That is very creepy, it's like he's watching us." he complained.

Tony opened his mouth to defend his AI, JARVIS wasn't a real person despite how lifelike the AI seemed at times so he could hardly be "watching them."

"And secondly." Bruce said reaching out and placing a finger over Tony's lips to stop him interrupting. "It's 8 in the morning Sparky, what do you mean finally I'm awake?" he asked removing his finger from his lips to make two little quotation gestures with his fingers. "Most normal human beings are still sound asleep at this time on a Saturday morning." he grumbled.

Tony chuckled. "Since when was Sparky my nickname?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bruce coloured a little. "Well you seem to have more than one for me." he replied thinking of how Tony would call him "Big Guy" or more recently "Hot Stuff" with a heavy layer of affection. "I thought you deserved one too." he smiled shyly.

"Sparky was the best you could come up with? Not handsome? Gorgeous? Sexy?" Tony asked pretending to be unsatisfied with the new nickname which he secretly loved. "I'd even stretch to Genius you know?"

"Well I deliberately didn't chose anything that would inflate your ego any bigger than it already is." Bruce replied with a chuckle.

Tony rolled onto his back and huffed loudly and pouted. Bruce wasn't buying any of it; he moved closer to Tony and slid and arm over his chest, stroking his finger around the outer edge of the arc reactor - the skin there was sensitive and he felt a tremble sweep through Tony's body as he touched him there but the billionaire didn't seem to mind at all. "Besides I'll save those sorts of nicknames for when we're in bed if you promise to keep "Hot Stuff" confined to the bedroom also." The _thought_ of Tony letting that slip in front of their fellow Avengers embarrassed him alone.

Tony smiled down at him and pressed a kiss to the bridge of his nose; it was as close to his mouth he could get without moving from the incredibly comfortable position they'd curled themselves into. "Deal." he agreed. "And for the record JARVIS isn't creepy and 8am is far too late to get up, you've wasted half the day." he tutted. "Geniuses like you and I shouldn't waste time sleeping you know?"

"What are you still doing here then?" Bruce asked rubbing the inside of his foot up Tony's shin and smiling up at him. "I know how desperate you are to get back in that workshop."

Tony nodded in agreement. "Well I thought it would be awfully rude of me to just leave, especially when I made you promise to stay the whole night through." he told him. "You get bonus points for not freaking out this morning by the way."

"Thanks." Bruce said with a roll of his eyes. "But I wasn't aware there was a scoring system going on here."

"Oh sure." Tony nodded enthusiastically. "Don't worry I'm keeping score - I'm winning by the way." he added with a sly smile.

Bruce rolled his eyes again. "Of course you are." he replied, not expecting anything less.

"Sir." JARVIS announced causing Bruce to jump again, seriously didn't the AI have a volume control or at least a way of addressing them this early in the morning that didn't cause Bruce's heart to leap into his mouth? "I thought you'd like to know that Ms Potts' car had just drawn up outside."

Tony ran his hand through his hair and then down his face. "What the hell does she want at this time of the morning?" he asked, but them he remembered their conversation the night before and knew she wasn't done with him just yet - she probably had more to say about Bruce and he wasn't in the mood for hearing it. Bruce frowned at Tony because just a moment ago Tony was claiming that this was practically the middle of the afternoon but he kept quiet because although it felt pathetic to feel so, he was secretly pleased at how un-enthusiastic Tony seemed at the thought of seeing his ex. "I'll go see what she wants." Tony said with a yawn as he shifted out from under Bruce and slid out of bed.

Bruce admired the fine view of Tony heading across the room to his wardrobe in nothing but his boxer shorts and was disappointed when Tony quickly pulled a thick dressing gown around himself. "Spoil sport." Bruce muttered causing Tony to send him a swift smile before he left the room.

Bruce decided to return to his own room just in case Pepper for some reason stumbled across him in Tony's bed - it was a slim chance since Tony had given specific instructions to JARVIS not to let anyone in his room without his say so. Bruce smiled when he realised he was apparently immune to this new house rule; he slipped out of bed and padded out of the room and down the corridor to his own room. Unfortunately he bumped into Steve on his way. "Steve? You still staying here?" he asked assuming that now Tony was home the Captain would have left - surely he and Pepper would get more privacy in his own home rather than her ex's.

Steve nodded. "I thought I'd stay a bit longer, just until Tony is properly back on his feet." he explained.

Bruce scowled because clearly Steve didn't think he was capable of looking after Tony, but the instant flare up died down when he realised that given how he'd acted over the last few weeks, especially after he'd stopped visiting Tony at the hospital, that Steve had a point. "I can help you." he said feeling bad that since he'd spent so much time shut in his room avoiding everyone he hadn't helped Steve with repairing the house after he - no after the Hulk - had trashed it. "I'm trying." he mumbled looking down at his bare feet rather than Steve's face.

Steve laid a warm, reassuring hand on Bruce's shoulder. "I know you are and it's good to see the real Bruce again." he said squeezing his shoulder. "I hope you and Tony have made up after last night?" he asked referring to the pool pushing incident.

Bruce couldn't help but blush heavily when he thought of exactly how well he and Tony had indeed made up and hung his head to hide it. "Yeah we're good." he said again feeling guilty for risking both their lives by pulling such a silly stunt. Even if water hadn't been involved it was still stupid of him to let his anger get the better of him and to turn on Tony who had just been released from hospital was unforgivable. "Sorry."

Steve's hand squeezed once again around Bruce's shoulder. "As long as you and Tony have put whatever you were arguing about behind you I'm happy. All I want is my team together again."

Bruce could tell that Steve was pushing for an explanation, he wanted to know what their argument was about, but Bruce wasn't prepared to give any more, his and Tony's conversations, particularly those regarding the Hulk were private. "Like I said we're good." he said stepping out from under Steve's grasp and heading to his bedroom.

Steve watched him go before heading downstairs; he stopped abruptly when he found Pepper crying on Tony's shoulder. Tony's hands stroked reassuringly down her back as he whispered in her ear. Steve felt a surge of jealousy shoot through him but told himself he was being stupid. Clearing his throat as he stepped into the living room Steve made his presence known. "Is everything okay?" he asked glancing at Pepper with concern.

Pepper drew away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry I've got to go." she sniffed looking only at Tony. Steve watched as she got up and headed for the door - he couldn't understand what had happened because the night before Pepper seemed just fine. Tony instantly got up and both he and Steve made a move to follow her. "Pepper." they called in unison, both their voices laden with concern.

Pepper shook her head. "I'm sorry I really have to go." she said to Tony before leaving the house, not taking a backward glance at Steve.

Steve swallowed hard as the door slammed closed and it wasn't until after he heard Pepper's car draw away that he turned to Tony. "What was that all about?" he asked. "Tony?"

"You need to go after her." Tony said pointing to the door. Steve glanced at Tony and then the door, so this involved him somehow? Did Tony know they were together? "For God sake man go after her!" he snapped.

Bruce was downstairs in a flash at the sound of Tony's raised voice; he sounded angry and upset - what was going on? He entered the living room to find Tony standing alone in the middle of the room, his fists clenched tightly together. Bruce wasn't sure what had happened but he'd heard the front door slam and both Steve and Pepper were nowhere to be seen - had they finally told Tony they were together?

"Tony?" Bruce asked taking a ginger step toward him. Bruce almost toppled over at the sudden weight of Tony slamming against him; his arms wrapping around him tightly. Bruce didn't question him and simply wrapped his arms around him and hugged him back tightly. "Whatever it is you can talk to me about it."

Tony just nodded and allowed Bruce to lead him over to the sofa; he said down and sighed deeply. "Pepper and Steve." he told him simply.

Bruce swallowed hard, but said nothing - he wasn't sure whether to let on that he knew they were seeing each other or not; he didn't want Tony to be angry at him for keeping it from him. "She came to tell you they were together?" he asked.

Tony nodded. "She said she was going to end it, that it wasn't fair on me." he explained, he laid back against the back of the sofa and sighed heavily. "God that woman is amazing, stupid but bloody amazing." he mumbled running his hands down his face. Realising what he'd said and how it sounded he glanced at Bruce who looked at him rather worriedly. "I just mean she's so selfless." he explained. "All she cares about are my feelings and God knows she shouldn't because I didn't give a damn about hers when you and I ..." he trailed off and just shook his head. "She is prepared to end things with Steve just to protect me and I know he makes her happy."

"How long have you known about them?" Bruce asked sensing that this news hadn't come as a complete surprise to Tony.

"Not long, a couple of days." Tony replied thinking back to seeing Steve and Pepper outside the hospital together. "And I'm okay with it." he said glancing at Bruce trying to look and sound convincing. "I wasn't good for her but he will be. He's better than me ... he's better for her and that's why she can't end things with him. It doesn't matter how I feel. I wasn't good enough for her, I didn't treat her right and that's why I lost her." Tony said through gritted teeth, angry with himself - he always did this, he pushed away the people who cared about him. Who he cared about.

Bruce felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach - Tony clearly was still in hung up on Pepper so what did that make him? Just make him a distraction? Bruce also knew he had to be honest with Tony. "I knew about them." he said unable to look Tony in the eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I didn't know for sure until recently ... and I guess I wanted them to tell you themselves."

Tony closed his eyes briefly. "It's okay." he said under his breath trying to understand, trying not to feel so hurt but failing miserably. It felt as if the whole world was keeping secrets from him, but he never expected it of Bruce.

Bruce could sense that it wasn't okay despite what Tony had said; the change in atmosphere said more than words ever could and Bruce hated it, hated that Tony was upset with him. God he was such an idiot for not telling him! He'd been trying to avoid Tony getting hurt but had caused just the opposite. "Tony I -" he started to say.

Tony shook his head and got up. "I just need a bit of time to get my head around all this - Pepper and Steve ... together ..." he paused, looked at Bruce and sighed heavily before heading out of the room.

Bruce felt a knot of anxiety tighten in his stomach and he knew that Pepper and Steve weren't the only things he needed time to get his head around - this, they, whatever they were, had all become so real so suddenly and it looked like Tony was having doubts.

Bruce knew exactly where Tony was going and where he would remain for the unforeseeable future - his workshop.


End file.
